V for Vongola
by Kuroneko99
Summary: Tsuna is the boss of the Vongola, just as it was laid out. It seemed that ever since he had become boss he had been stuck to a life of paperwork. Now he must ignite his dying will flames to save his fiance, Kyoko, in what may be one of his hardest battles
1. Chapter 1: V

**So i decided to write another Katekyo Hitman Reborn story. Unlike my other one, this will not be a oneshot. This is my attempt at a mystery story for KHR. I can't reveal too much; you'll have to read to find out what happens. I will tell you this: it involves a game, a madman, seven Vongola, and a whole lot of mayhem. So, please read and enjoy. Review also. **

**Disclaimer: i don't own KHR or anything to do with KHR**

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"**V"**

It was a cool October afternoon. The midday sun steamed in through the Vongola castle's high windows, illuminating the long, red carpeted hallways. Soft footfalls fell on the soft carpet as the young mafia boss strolled through the hallways, going in no particular direction. Dressed in the black suit, which had now become a permanent fixture of his attire, the young man looked dashing and professional as he wandered his home.

Tsuna let out a sigh and shoved his hands in pockets, letting the warm sunlight warm his skin. It was nice to take a short break from the mountain of paper work that was waiting for him back in his office. He shuddered as he remembered the first time her had gotten a severe hand cramp from signing and filing so many papers. Now it was a regular thing when he wasn't dealing with business.

"How long has it been since I had a break?" He muttered and glanced out at the estate. Tsuna paused to look out into the courtyard. Below, Ryohei was practicing with Kangaryuu, his trusted box weapon animal. The boss watched as they exchanged blows, the Sun dying will flames flickering with each movement. Through the window, he could hear the Sun Guardian's shouts as he delivered as swift uppercut to the kangaroo.

"That's Ryohei; always energetic and pumped up." Tsuna commented and pulled himself away from the window. A sudden kitten-like growl that was so familiar made him turn and stop to see Natsu bound towards him, the sky lion's amber eyes alight with a playful intent. "Hey, Natsu, it's been awhile." He greeted, his eyes softening, as he crouched down the stroke the lion. Natsu purred under his master's hand, winding his body around Tsuna's leg. "I'm sorry that I haven't had a lot of time to play with you; I've been busy with paperwork. I'll play with you when I finish." Tsuna stood back up and continued in the direction of his office. Natsu's eyes followed him for a second before he scampered off in the opposite direction.

Tsuna's paced slowed as his body moved reluctantly towards the door at the end of the hall: His office. He wished that he could turn around and go outside in the sunshine, but if he didn't finish the paperwork by tomorrow, Gokudera would drill him with a long lecture about the importance of paperwork. The last lecture had been timed at thirty minutes of the Storm Guardian's relentless talking. He had gotten so passionate that Tsuna had gotten up and made himself a cup of coffee, Italian roast with a shot of cream and two sugar cubes (a mafia boss who liked sweet things), and returned without Gokudera even noticing that the boss had up and left.

"I don't see why I need to do all this paperwork anyway…" The boss grumbled, seeming more like his child self than his current position as the tenth boss of the Vongola family. "I've never been good with papers and stuff…I guess that's why I got the nickname No-Good Tsuna." He chuckled a bit at the memories of his middle school days. "Some days I still feel like that…" He said aloud, his voice ringing through the empty hall as he stopped at the large doors with the Vongola crest engraved in the wood. "Well, I guess it's back to work…"

With the straightening of his tie, Tsuna pushed open the doors and stepped in the room where he knew he'd be spending the next several hours in. he flipped on the chandelier hanging from the high arched ceiling, greeted by the familiar desk that resembled an impending figure with towers of white resting on it. "It seems as though the mound has grown in the time that I took a break," Tsuna sighed as he slumped into the black leather chair, rolling the heavy gold pen that sat on the desk between his fingers. The sunlight shining through the window behind him made him turn around and just gaze out at the tall trees that basked in the Italian sun.

No matter how much he wanted to go out and take a break, he knew that it was his duty to do what was required of him, even if it meant filling out paperwork. Carefully, he pulled out the battered blue charm with a whale on it and a picture of the person who had made it for him. Memories of when he had been given the charm flooded back, making his heart ache a bit. Those times had been tough and it was with the help of his friends and the charm that had helped him through it all.

"Kyoko," Tsuna sighed, a smile forming as he said his fiancé's name. It had only been seven months since he had proposed to her. Naturally Ryohei threw a bit of a fit when he heard that his only beloved sister was getting married, but calmed down once he realized that if the boss was the one marrying her then he'd have little to worry about. The wedding was scheduled for June of next year and it made Tsuna's heart flutter every time he thought about it.

He missed her terribly; they hadn't seen each other in months due to his work. It pained him to be away from her for so long. Kyoko seemed understanding whenever Tsuna called her to tell her about he was swapped with work. She had always been an understanding person, and that was one of the things about her that he loved about the girl who had once been his middle school crush.

Tsuna closed his eyes, letting himself be pulled into the warmth of memories of the past. The warm sunlight made him feel sleepy. That and the combination of comforting memories slowly pulled him into sleep.

* * *

"Tenth! Boss! Wake up! We have an emergency!" Through the black hazy of sleep, Tsuna could hear a desperate voice shouting at him. Slowly he slipped into consciousness, his eyes flying open.

"What the-?" He exclaimed, standing up quickly as the sound of alarms and hurried footsteps met his ears. The sudden movement sent his chair backwards, causing it to knock into the desk and scattering the papers everywhere. They fluttered to the ground in a whirlwind of white. "What's going on?" the boss demanded, putting on a composed face as he turned to face Gokudera who was standing beside him.

"Someone's hacking into the main computer frame!" He replied hurriedly as the alarms around the castle went off. Their shrill shrieks rang out loudly, adding to the confusion.

"Are Giannini and Shouichi handling it?" The boss asked as he walked around his desk to start picking up the fallen papers.

"They said that this hacker was unlike anything that they had encountered before. They're breaking past all of the firewalls and almost has full access to the main computer system." Gokudera confirmed, his face full of worry.

Tsuna stopped, an unsigned document clasped in his hand. _Someone who can break through Giannini's firewalls? Is that even possible? This is bad. We have to find a way to stop whoever this is before they completely break in. _Tsuna stacked the papers back on his desk and headed for the door.

"Boss, where are you going?" Gokudera called after him, following closely behind as they stepped out into the chaotic hallways where other men in suits rushed about.

"To the control room. I have to know all that's going on. If we're under attack then it's my job as boss to find out what it is and stop it." With a quickened and determined pace, Tsuna marched through the chaos, wearing a cool face. That was how a boss should be, cool and collected in times of chaos. His old self would have panicked and be running around not knowing what to be. Truthfully, he was a bit frightened inside. He didn't know who or what the enemy was. Just what was going on? Natsu came running down the hallway and leapt onto his master's should, cowering in fear. When Natsu wasn't in battle, he was a bit of a scaredy cat. "It's ok, Natsu." Tsuna told him quietly.

"Do you want me to assemble to guardians, tenth?" Gokudera asked, falling a step behind his beloved boss.

"Yes. Tell them to meet up in the control room." He replied and went on.

"Understood, boss." Gokudera touched the black Bluetooth that was attached to his ear. "Guardians, this is an emergency. I repeat, this is an emergency. All guardians must report to the control room immediately. That's an order from the boss." He commanded, his ring glowing to summon them. "Boss, Chrome and Mukuro are on their honeymoon in Tahiti, so I doubt they will be able to show up. What do you want to do?"

"It's fine; leave them be. Just so long as we have most of the guardians we should be fine. It might turn out to be nothing…" Tsuna hoped that his words were true. He had a bad feeling in his gut that refused to leave.

"Ryohei and Yamamoto should be here already in the castle. Hibari is finishing up a job in Venice. Lambo is returning from a visit with the Bovino family." The Storm Guardian informed the tenth as they reached the control room.

"I see." The door slid open to reveal the room that could only be described as disordered. The once neat, NASA sized control room was bathed in red light from the alarms going off all around. Several of the techies, were rushing around, seeing to the complex machines and computers. Sitting in front of a huge monitor, was Giannini and Shouichi who were typing furiously.

Maneuvering through the rushing bodies, Tsuna made is way over to where they were frantically trying to get rid of the warning boxes popping up all across the screen. Shouichi's brow was furrowed as he pushed his glasses further up onto his nose.

"What's going on?" Tsuna asked them, startling them.

"T-Tenth!" Giannini stammered, jumping to his feet. "Someone's trying to hack into the system. We haven't been able to trace the person and our firewalls won't last much longer…" His face fell as he glanced back nervously at the flashing monitor.

"Whoever this guy is, he's good. Not just good, but a pro." Shouichi muttered without tearing his eyes from his work. "How's it coming on your end, Spanner?" He shouted across the room to the blonde haired mechanic. Spanner pulled out another one of his strawberry suckers and put it in his mouth, turning to his friend.

"Still no luck." He replied, his eyes shifting back to the laptop in his lap.

"Dang it!" Shouichi hissed, slamming his fist on his knee. "Who could be doing this? This is impossible! Our security is one of the most secure-Ow! My stomach…" He moaned and held his stomach. His stomach had a habit of hurting whenever he grew really anxious. That only made the pit in Tsuna's tighten.

"Calm down, Shouichi." He told them.

"Sorry, Tsuna." He apologized and straightened himself.

"Is there anything we can do at this point?" Gokudera asked them.

"Not that I know of. Until we figure out who's doing this-" The lights suddenly ceased their flashing and the alarms died down.

"It stopped." Giannini commented and everything fell into silence.

"What did you do? Did you fix it?" Tsuna questioned, relaxing a bit.

"I don't know…I don't think we did anything…" Shouichi stared perplexed at the monitor as the warning boxes began to fade.

"It looks like you didn't need us to come." A familiar voice said. Tsuna turned around to see his old friend, Yamamoto leaning against the wall. Over his shoulder was his trusted sword.

"Yamamoto," Tsuna said. "It's been awhile."

"Yeah. The moment I leave something weird happens." He smiled, a bit of his light heartedness showing through his mafia exterior.

"That was some extreme chaos. Don't you think so, Hibari?" Ryohei appeared in the room, followed by the unhappy looking Cloud Guardian. Hibird was perched on his shoulder, singing the anthem for Namimori Middle School, Hibari's favorite.

"Don't get so close to me or I'll bite you to death." Hibari threatened icily, glaring with his cold eyes as he moved away from Ryohei. "It looks like this was a waste of my time to come here."

"Aw, don't be like that, Hibari." Yamamoto told him, patting his shoulder.

"Are you asking for me to hurt you?" Hibari glared harder at him. Yamamoto just smiled, seemingly unfazed by the former disciplinary committee president's antisocial nature.

"Same as always, Hibari." The Rain Guardian let his hand drop and crossed his arms across his chest.

"It's great to see you all." Tsuna told them. "I'm sorry that this turned out to be a false alarm."

"No worries. It was a nice change of pace." Yamamoto turned to the boss, still smiling. "So, what now?"

"Hey, octopus head," Ryohei said to Gokudera, "what with all that extreme alarm mess?" Even as a grownup, the Sun Guardian still hadn't gotten out of the habit of using the word "extreme" in practically every sentence.

"Octopus head?" Gokudera seethed, fuming over the nickname that he had been given in middle school. "Listen, turf head, why don't you use that thick head of yours to figure it out! We were almost hacked!" With that, his cool composure was shattered.

"Hacked? But I thought that we had the most extreme security system." Ryohei pondered.

"That's why it was such a big deal!" Ryohei and Gokudera began arguing. The scene reminded Tsuna of the past, making him smile a bit.

"I guess it was nothing. Sorry to bother you all-" he had begun to say, but something jumped onto the monitor.

"S-Something's downloading!" Giannini scrambled to stop the unknown file being downloaded, but it was no use. A video link suddenly opened and they all turned to watch.

"Hello, young Vongola tenth," a voice said as a figure in a black hooded cloak appeared. The hood shadowed his face, revealing only the figure's smiling mouth. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Who are you?" Tsuna demanded, facing the figure with calculating eyes. "Why did you hack into our security system?" Natsu growled at the person in video menacingly, his ears plastered against his head.

"Why? Because it was the only way to grab your attention." The mysterious person replied.

"Are you an enemy?"

"Only if you don't do as I say." A Cheshire cat smile spread across his face.

"Who are you?" Tsuna shot. The bad feeling was growing and his super intuition telling him that something unpleasant was about to happen.

"Me. You may call me V."

"V?"

"Yes."

"And what is it that you want, V?"

"I want," V paused, "to play a game."

"A game? What do you mean?" None of this was making sense. Just who was this person named V? What did he mean by "game"?

"It's it obvious? I. Want. To. Play. A. Game. With. You." V spoke slowly, as if he were speaking to a child.

"What kind of game?"

"A trial game of sorts. Basically, you and you're guardians will follow the clues I have laid out for you. The clues will lead you to a place of my choosing and there you will encounter a trial. Once you complete the trail, you move on to the next clue. If you win the game, you get a prize." V explained.

"What is the whole point of this game?" Gokudera questioned. Tsuna could tell that his temper was flaring up.

"To win and keep me entertained. I've always wanted to play a game with you, Vongola." V giggled, his body shaking with laughter. "I simply like winning and watching people play my games."

"And what if we refuse?" Tsuna asked, his eyes narrowing. V's smile widened, almost as if he'd been expecting him to answer that way.

"Well, I don't think that you have much of a choice. You see, I knew you were going to be against playing with me, so I took the liberty of picking out a prize that will make it so that you have no choice, but to play!"

"Cut the crap out, V, and tell us already!" Gokudera shouted angrily, slamming his hand against the monitors control panel, hoping to remove the cackling V.

"Oh, but I have. You see, I have something very important to you, Vongola." V ignored Gokudera and smiled at Tsuna.

"What do you mean?"

"I think you know what I mean." With a wave of his finger, V brought up another video window at the bottom of the screen. "You see, Vongola, if you don't play my game, I'll just have to send your little princess to the depths of hell."

Tsuna's eyes widened as he studied the scene in the video. His heart dropped into his stomach as everything began to sink in, the shock paralyzing his body. His mouth grew parched as he fumbled for words. "Kyo…Kyoko…?" Tsuna stammered.

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**What will Tsuna do now? His fiance's been kidnapped and the only way to get her back is by playing V's game. What lies in store for the Vongola gang? Only the future reveals the answers (whenever that may be)**


	2. Chapter 2: Game On

**So hear it is, chapter two. It's shorter than the first one but i'll make up for it in the next one. Disclaimer, I don't own KHR. Please read, review, and enjoy.**

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**Game On**

_It had been a cool summer night the day that Tsuna decided to take the plunge. Earlier, he had taken Kyoko to a nice dinner, candle light of course. After the dinner, they were taking a walk through Namimori Park towards the river. The mood was calm as they talked and laughed; all thoughts of the mafia forgotten. They looked like a normal couple, not a mafia boss and his girlfriend. Tsuna made sure it was this way by asking the guardians not to follow him. Despite this, he could sense Gokudera's ever present presence hiding behind a tree, hidden in the shadows watching for any signs of trouble._

_Tsuna signed inwardly, putting the thoughts of Gokudera out of his mind, focusing on what lay ahead. Nervously, he fingered the tiny velvet box in his pocket with his right hand while the other hand held Kyoko's hand. He tried to calm himself enough to ask her. They had been dating since high school, almost five years. He was so head over heels in love with her that he couldn't imagine his life without her. The question was: Did she feel the same way?_

_No, he couldn't be thinking about that now. He couldn't back out now that he had come so far. As they reached the river bathed in moonlight, Tsuna stopped. Kyoko turned to him, staring at him curiously._

"_Tsuna, is something wrong?" She asked. _

"_Kyoko," he started, getting down on one knee in the road, pulling out the small box, "will you marry me?" His heart was pounding has he opened it, the moonlight glistening off the diamond ring nestled in the black velvet interior._

_Kyoko gasped, her eyes widening as her hands flew to her mouth. She hadn't been expecting a proposal. Tsuna summoned all his courage and continued. _

"_Kyoko, I love you; I always have. So please, would you spend the rest of your life with me?" He asked, his eyes trained intently on her face. Kyoko lowered her hands, trying to recover from the shock._

"_Tsuna," she answered finally and that one moment that she paused seemed like an eternity, "of course I'll marry you!" She embraced him in a sudden hug that caught him off balance. Tsuna, still in a state of shock, couldn't believe his ears. She had said yes. Slowly, the intense happiness settled in and he embraced her back, pulling her close as he inhaled her scent. He could feel her tears through his shirt and he thought he might cry as well, but he held them in._

_From his hiding spot, Gokudera smiled at his boss. "Good luck, tenth." He muttered, stroking Uri as he perched on his shoulder. The cat purred loudly, rubbing against the Storm Ring. The moon rose high into the sky, illuminating the couple in its silver light._

* * *

Tsuna thought that his legs might give out as his eyes remained transfixed to the screen. Kyoko's terrified face filled his vision as she was tied to a pillar in a dark warehouse building. There was a gun pointed to the side of her head and she was trying hard not to let her eyes shift over to it.

"K-Kyoko!" he cried, regaining some sense of his thoughts. Her eyes went to his face.

"Is this an illusion?" Gokudera asked.

"I don't think it is. I can't tell either way." Shouichi replied as they all stared at the screen.

"T-Tsuna? Is that you?" she called out in a trembling voice. At least she could hear him.

"It's me, Kyoko! Don't worry! I'll come rescue you!"

"N-No…you can't! They're just using me to get to you! Please, if you come, you'll be killed!" Kyoko begged him, struggling in the ropes that confined her.

Tsuna bit his lip. "I don't care about that. I have to protect you; I swore I would!"

"Please, don't worry about me, Tsuna. I'll be fine." She put on a brave smile, but it wasn't enough to hide her trembling.

"Aw, such a sweet devotion. Well, it's time to get down to business, so you'll have to say goodbye to your princess for right now, Vongola." With a snap of his fingers, the video vanished and V's face reappeared on the screen.

"Kyoko!" Tsuna shouted. "V! What is the meaning of this? Why'd you kidnap Kyoko?" He turned his glare on V. "What have you done with her? Where is she? Tell me!"

"Calm down, Vongola. Your girl is fine; she's just hidden right now. She'll be fine, as long as you do what I say." V told him. "Now, onto the game. I'll be giving you your first clue tomorrow so you'd better pay attention. The clue will take you to a special location and there you'll encounter your trial. Pass the trial, you're one step closer to rescuing the princess. Fail and there will be consequences. Think of this game as a life or death game."

"You're mad!" Gokudera shouted.

"You're probably right. Maybe I should have dressed the girl up in a princess outfit to fit the part better." V mused, putting his chin in his hand in thought. "Well, I'll worry about the small details later."

"Why you-?" Tsuna growled, clenching his hands into tight fists.

"Calm down, Tsuna. He's just trying to get to you." The familiar voice of his former tutor stopped him short as a sudden weight landed on the boss's head.

"R-Reborn?" he exclaimed.

"Ciaossu." The infant greeted him, pushing his hat up. "It's been awhile, Tsuna."

"Y-Yeah…" Tsuna replied, a bit of his anger draining away.

"I have no idea who you are, but what are you planning?" Reborn turned to V, eyeing him coolly,

"Oh? An Acrobaleno? That's a rare sight! This is getting interesting. The name's V, Mr. Acrobaleno. I just want to have a bit of fun; it's been awhile since I've had someone to play with. Also, I want to see how strong the famous Vongola tenth is." V replied suddenly pulling out a tin of cookies. He extracted a sugar cookie, studied it, and then took a bite. "I want to see if he and his guardians have what it takes to defeat me in a game."

"Well you're one messed up person, V." Reborn told him.

"Really?" V put on a look of mock shock. "Why thank you for noticing. I'll correct you by saying that I'm _quiet _mad."

"Quit acting so happy about this, you freak!" Gokudera snapped at him, his eyes glowering.

"It's Mr. Freak to you, octopus head!" V retorted, pointing a cookie at him.

"Looks like even the enemy knows about your nickname, Gokudera." Yamamoto said.

"Y-You-?"

"Gokudera, stop it." Tsuna said, his voice low and even, making them all fall silent. His eyes were shadowed as he stared at the ground, his face hidden from them.

"It seems like I've hit a nerve." V chuckled. "So, Vongola, what do you plan to do?

Are you going to come save your precious princess or curl up in a miserable ball and admit defeat?"

"You wish." He informed V, raising his eyes that were now burning with determined resolve. "I'll play your game and beat you so that I can rescue Kyoko. I made a promise to protect her and I'll stick to that promise to the very end. When I find you, I'll make you pay."

"Oooh, I like the look in your eyes, Vongola." V smiled. "Those are the eyes of someone who's willing to risk it all and that's exactly how I like to play my games. Very well, challenge accepted. But make no mistake, I will not go easy on you."

"I'd be insulted if you did. Bring it; we'll take on anything you throw at us." Tsuna told him.

"I wonder if you'll hold onto those words once you enter the game. Oh, as a reminder, if you get any bright ideas about trying to trace my signal, you're sweet princess will end up with a bullet through her head." V's voice was dangerous as his smile remained. "It's not like you could find me anyway. I wish you the best of luck, Vongola. Until tomorrow." With that, the screen cut out and went black. Silence filled the room like a suffocating cloud.

"B-Boss…I'm so sorry…" Gokudera broke the silence first, placing a hesitant hand on Tsuna's shoulder.

"It's fine. I should have expected something like this to happen. It's my fault for not expecting something like this sooner." Tsuna replied, curling his fists tighter. He had known that the mafia life wasn't easy and that anyone involved was at risk. Kyoko and Tsuna had discussed this and she knew the dangers as well as he did. He had to protector, his was his obligation for bringing her into the mafia world. "I'm sorry, Ryohei…"

"Tsuna, you promised that you'd protect Kyoko." The Sun Guardian said, his face hard as he tried to hold his anger in. He was taking Kyoko's abduction just as hard as Tsuna was. "And I'm going to hold you to that promise. I trust you just as much as Kyoko does. You'd better make sure we win so that we can save Kyoko."

"I understand, Ryohei. I have no intention of losing. We'll rescue Kyoko at any costs." Tsuna assured him, his hands unclenching.

"So, Tsuna, what do you plan on doing?" Reborn asked him as he hopped down to the floor.

"I plan on playing V's game and winning so that we can save Kyoko." Tsuna told him firmly, facing the guardians.

"I'm with you, Tsuna." Yamamoto told him.

"Hey, that's my line, baseball nut!" Gokudera seethed.

"Alright! We'll win this game to the extreme!" Ryohei proclaimed.

"I have no desire to play this game of yours. You can group together and get beat up on your own. I'm leaving." Hibari huffed and turned to leave but Yamamoto grabbed him by the collar of his suit. That was a dangerous move and the tension in the air grew thick. "Do you want me to bite you to death?" Hibari took out a tonfa and held it up menacingly.

"Relax, Hibari. You'll probably get to fight some strong people if you play this weirdo's game." The voice of Dino suddenly entered the conversation. Hibari put the tonfa away and crossed his arms across his chest sourly, but gave in.

"Dino!" Tsuna said, surprised to see the Cavellone boss in the control room. Behind him was the graying Romario and a few other of Dino's subordinates. "When did you get here?"

"Just now. It seems like you're in quite a pinch. I'll be happy to help you in any way I can." He smiled.

'Thanks, Dino. That'd be a great help."

"Tsuna, I also think that you should try contacting the Varia. They might be able to help you. This V guy is no ordinary person. He seems really strong." Reborn suggested. Leon gazed up at Tsuna from the brim of Reborn's hat with his large yellow eyes.

"The Varia? Why would we need that bunch of whackos?" Gokudera asked, folding his arms across his chest.

"Because they're strong and you don't know what you're up against." Reborn told him flatly and the Storm Guardian fell silent.

"They won't be too happy if we drag them into our mess." Yamamoto commented, picturing Squalo's angry face when he's told that he has to help people.

"I suggest that you all get some sleep. We have a big day ahead of us. When Lambo gets here, I'll fill him in." Dino suggested and they didn't protest.

"Alright, everyone," Tsuna addressed them, "we're going to fight and take this guy V down and save Kyoko."

"We're right behind you, boss." Gokudera said, flashing him a confident smile.

"As are we," Dino answered in place of Hibari.

"Thanks guys…" Tsuna felt weak and wanted to go lie down, but he couldn't act weak now.

"Well, there hasn't been a gathering of the guardians like this in years." Reborn commented as they left the room, leaving Giannini and Shouichi alone in front of the computer. "Those people have a long road ahead of them."

"We'd better start working to help them in any way we can." Shouichi pointed out.

"Yes," Giannini turned back to the computer and began typing rapidly, "The boss will need our help tomorrow to defeat this V guy!" Soon the room was filled with the sound of typing as the techies began their work.

Reborn quietly excused himself, walking down the dark hallways. The brim was pulled down over his eyes,a faint smile on his face. "This should be interesting to see how they handle this." His voice echoed in the empty silence of the castle.

* * *

**And the madness continues. What does V have ins store for the Vonloga family? What will the first trial be? Just who is V? Why does he like cookies? Why is he so insane? Who knows; read on.**


	3. Chapter 3: So begins the game

**So here's chapter 3. V's trial is beginning to get underway. Now begins the crazy game to rescue the damsel in distress. Please read, review, and enjoy**

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**So begins the game  
**

Tsuna slipped on his neatly pressed suit in a slow procession. He hadn't slept well that night and had just lay wake in his bed, staring at the ceiling. The sun had risen, brining no comfort to his numb mood that had settled over him since he had left the control room. He had dressed in a daze, not really paying attention on anything.

As he slipped on the Vongola ring, feeling its cold weight on his finger, he turned to the photo of Kyoko that was sitting next to his bed. His heart ached a bit as he stared at her smiling face; a torrent of memories flooding his mind. He reached out and picked up the frame, hoping to feel somewhat closer to her.

"Don't worry, Kyoko," he set the photo frame back down on the nightstand, "I'll be coming for you. I won't lose; no matter what." With the straightening of his tie, Tsuna turned and left his room. The moment he stepped out into the hallway, he felt the tension of the day. He passed the dining hall, not feeling hungry, and kept on walking to the common room. That was where Reborn had said that they'd all meet and wait for V's trial.

Pushing past the giant doors, he found the guardians already waiting for him. Gokudera's eyes lit up when he saw his boss walk in. the rest of the Vongola Guardians along with Dino, Shouichi, Giannini, I-pin, Lambo, and Reborn. They all were dressed in matching black suits, a sign that they were prepared to move.

"Good morning, tenth." Gokudera greeted him.

"Morning, Gokudera." Tsuna nodded slightly and straightened his tie. "Has V contacted us yet?"

"No, but we contacted the Varia and they'll be meeting us soon." Gokudera told him.

"So we're just waiting here?" he asked.

"Hopefully not for long."

"Incoming signal." Shouichi said suddenly as the large monitor above the fireplace switched on. They all turned to face it as V's face appeared.

"I hope you all weren't waiting long." V said cheerily as he sat in the screen, munching on a waffle. "What's with those looks? Can't I eat breakfast? It is breakfast time where you are, right?"

"Cut the crap, V. What's the first challenge?" Gokudera snapped at him.

"Geez, someone hasn't had their morning coffee yet." V tsked and took a sip of coffee from a white mug. "Calm down, octopus-head., let me explain how this is all gonna play out. First off, there's gonna be a roulette, like this." A large wheel appeared on the screen with twelve sections that were covered in orange tape.

"What's under the tape?" Yamamoto asked. "What's underneath it?"

"That's the surprise part. Under the tape is a location where the trials will be taking part. Once you get the location, you have 18 hours to get to that location and bring whatever you might need to win the trial. That includes, people, weapons, gadgets, etc. there will be two teams: Mine and yours. You'll have an audience of whoever else you decide to bring and isn't playing on the field at that time."

"So we can use anything we want?" Dino asked.

"Yup, so you may bring whoever you like, Vongola! But, be wise in who you chose. There will be two sides to each team: An offensive side and a by standing side. They can be interchangeable. Be warned, whoever you choose is vulnerable."

"Vulnerable to what?" Tsuna narrowed his eyes.

"Vulnerable to elimination. You're people will be like pieces in a board game. Once you put them out there, they are vulnerable to be knocked out and taken. If you lose a challenge or one of you men is taken out, you lose them on the playing field. I'll give you a handicap though since I hate long games. If one of your guys is taken out during the game, then one of my men will be taken out, so that the teams are the same. The only times that the teams will be uneven is when you win. If you win a challenge then one of my players will be eliminated without detracting from your team and if I win then one of your players will be detracted from your team." V nibbled out a cookie that he pulled out from under his cloak.

"So our team is able to be eliminated? What happens to the person once they're eliminated?" Dino thought hard on this.

"Hard to say. Once they are knocked out of the game they are taken away far from the field and aren't allowed back into the game. Basically we play until there's one person standing. A game of elimination."

"And so the people in the game get eliminated when a team losses the challenge? Then how do you determine who wins in the end?" It was Ryohei's turn to ask. He seemed to be already confused by V's rules.

"The person who wins the most challenges and defeats the king of the other team wins. The 'king' is the leader of each team. I will be the king for my team and Vongola will be the king for his. Think of it like chess; the other side only wins when the queen is defeated. The king or queen is the real winning piece."

"What about Kyoko, V? Is she safe?" Tsuna jumped right to the question that had been on his mind all night.

"Yes, don't worry, you're damsel in distress is fine and dandy, Vongola." V sighed heavily as he pulled up a picture of Kyoko to see. Tsuna relaxed a bit. "See? Fine and unharmed so relax, I haven't done anything to her, yet."

"Yet?"

"She'll remain in one piece as long as you do as I say. That means that you play my game, you don't try any funny business, and you do whatever it takes to win. One false move and I'll send her plummeting to a very painful death."

"This is extreme blackmail!" Ryohei cried in protest, pointing a first at V. Tsuna said nothing and just stood there with an expressionless look on his face. He couldn't lose his cool in front of V; that'd be just what he'd want.

"What happens to the loser?" Shouichi asked. It was the question that they were all thinking, but didn't want to think about.

"They get destroyed until there's nothing left. Players, king, and all." V smiled and dipped his cookie in a glass of milk. "I just love cookies and milk. Don't you?" He asked the silent and horrified room.

"You're insane!" Gokudera shouted and Yamamoto put a steady hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

"We've been over this already, octopus-head. I know I'm insane, though I prefer the term mad genius." V corrected him, only fueling Gokudera's rage.

"Let me at him! Let me at him! I'll beat this guy for you, boss. I swear it!" The Storm Guardian snapped.

"Looks like you guys managed to get into trouble with yet another psychopath. I don't want to get involved with this guy." Lambo muttered as he messed with his hair nervously.

"Psychopath, I haven't heard that one before. It has a nice ring to it." V mused as the picture of Kyoko vanished. "Now, on to the game. Since I'm feeling generous, you can spin the wheel first."

"Don't change the subject!" Gokudera continued.

"Stop it, Gokudera. We won't be able to rescue Kyoko if we keep stand around here talking." Tsuna said sharply to him and he fell silent.

"Sorry, boss…"

"Just tell me when you want to spin and we'll begin." V told the boss.

"We're ready; spin the wheel." He said to V, his eyes filled with determination.

"Alright then," V gave the wheel a hard push and it began to spin. "Round and round the wheel goes, where it'll stop nobody knows!"

Tsuna watched the wheel turn intently, wondering where the first challenge was going to take place. He didn't even know what the first challenge was going to be. Maybe the location would give some hint as to what the challenge might be? Knowing V, it might be more like a deadly game than anything else, so it was best not to take it too lightly. Gradually, the wheel began to slow, the sound of the rubber stopper hitting the pegs that divided the sections sounded like gunshots in his ears. His pulse was racing nervously as the deceleration seemed like an eternity. When it finally stopped, he didn't realize that he'd stopped breathing.

"Well," V pulled off the orange tape to reveal the location, "looks like you got the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil. That's some interesting luck you got there, Vongola." V commented as they stared at the wheel.

"Brazil?" Dino exclaimed.

"This sounds like a waste of my time." Hibari huffed from the opposite end of the room. Hibird ruffled his feathers as he sat on the Cloud Guardian's shoulder.

"Don't be like that, Hibari. Lighten up a bit." Dino told him casually. Dino seemed to be the only person who could talk to Hibari like that without getting killed.

"I hate to break up the little conversation between Mr. My Little Pony and Mr.

Gloomy, but I don't think you guys want to waste any time. You have twelve hours to get to the Amazon Rainforest before time runs out. The game's started already so get moving. Here's the address where you'll meet me." Shouichi copied down the address as it popped up on the screen. "I hope that you all will give me a most entertaining time. Ciao!" V's face disappeared and the screen went black yet again.

"I suggest we all get moving." Reborn told them. "Tsuna?"

"Yeah, pack your bags everyone." He snapped back to the reality. "We're going to Brazil."

* * *

The large group of mafia members tried to make their way as inconspicuously as they could as they made their way through the crowded airport. Of course they had already gained attention when they pulled up in the sleek black Mercedes. Hibari, not one to act well with others, came in his own car. The Vongola private jet was in a separate part of the airport and that was in good walking distance from where they currently were.

"Tsuna, some others will be meeting us at the plane. I invited them." Reborn told him.

"Like who?" The crowds had thinned and they were now walking down a long, empty hallway. They had packed light, only taking one suitcase each.

"You'll see." The infant hit man replied.

"I don't like it when you say things like that." Tsuna sighed.

"Don't worry, boss. I'm sure whoever Reborn invited will be of great help." Gokudera assured him, trying to ease his boss's worry.

"Voooi!" A voice boomed across the airport, startling them. They knew the voice well. "It's about time you got here, trash!"

"Squalo?" Yamamoto exclaimed, spotting the agitated silver-haired Varia swordsmen glaring at them. He always had the "Someone's gonna die" look on his face. His sword was still taped to his left hand, looking as menacing as ever. It was amazing that he'd gotten past security with that thing.

"If you ask for someone's help then at least show up on time!" he barked. Standing beside him were the other members of the Varia. All were dressed in their Varia uniforms as always.

"Shishishi, looks like we're being asked to help them out again. Of course it would only be natural for commoners to ask a prince for help." Belphegor sniggered as he leaned against his suitcase. As usual, his blonde hair was as wild as ever, covering his eyes and housing his silver crown. "So what are we doing this time, Vongola?"

"I think we're playing a game, sempai." Fran answered in his monotone voice. "Hopefully you won't lose shamefully." His dull green eyes stared ahead as he stood next to Prince the Ripper.

"What'd ya say, Frog boy?" Clearly angered, Bel threw a throwing knife at Fran and it embedded in his giant frog hat.

"Ow…that hurt sempai…" Fran protested in a whining voice, his expression never changing as he pulled out the knife.

"Drop it and die!" Bel warned with a crafty smile on his face as Fran froze, the knife held in his thumb and forefinger, poised to be dropped.

"Stop it, you two. You're embarrassing us!" Lussuria scolded, fixing his red rimmed sunglasses.

"Where's the rest of the whack job gang?" Gokudera asked, unhappy to see their old enemy again. Even though they had helped in their last fight with Byakuran, he hoped that he wouldn't see the Varia team for a long time. In his opinion, it hadn't been long enough.

"The boss didn't want to help you, but he did want me to give you this message." Squalo pulled out a folded piece of paper from his pocket and read it out loud. "'Don't get killed, trash.'"

"What a cheerful piece of advice…" Gokudera grumbled.

"Levi decided to also stay with the boss so he's not here either." Lussuria added as he brushed his hair out of his face.

"Hello, Hayato, it's been awhile." Gokudera turned to see his sister appear around the Varia.

"B-Bianchi?" He gasped, a sharp pain shooting through his stomach. He doubled over in pain.

"Bianchi, I think you should put on your goggles." Reborn told her.

"You're right, Reborn. It's just been so long and I got kind of excited!" She slipped on a pair of orange-tinged goggles and turned to Reborn. "Reborn, I've missed you!" The Poison Scorpion exclaimed as he picked up the infant and held him close.

"Tsh! Pathetic!" Squalo scoffed as Gokudera began to recover from the shock of seeing his sister. Even after all these years, he still hadn't gotten over feeling violently ill whenever he saw Bianchi.

"Shishi, what an idiot!" Bel sneered, laughing under his breath.

"Idiot~." Fran sang in his monotone voice.

"Shut up!" Gokudera snapped at them, growing irritated. "You wanna start something?" His ring began to glow with the red storm dying will flames.

"Why not! I'd love a warm up before I kick this V guy's butt!" Squalo grinned manically as his sword glinted against the florescent lights.

"Guys! Stop it!" Tsuna told them, making them stop. "We're wasting time. Let's get going. You'll have plenty of time to fight once we confront V." Without another word, Tsuna began walking towards the plane that was waiting for them.

"Yes, boss!" With one last glare, Gokudera left Squalo and followed after Tsuna. The rest of the guardians followed, not wanting to be chewed out by the boss.

"Well don't just stand there! Get your butts moving!" Squalo shouted at the rest of the Varia.

The plane was lavish on the inside; only the best for the Vongola family. Tsuna sat by the window, Gokudera beside him and Reborn, Bianchi and Yamamoto sitting across from him. Hibari sat away from everyone else and the only person who got near him was Dino, Romario, and Kusekabe. The three techies sat by Lambo and I-pin and the Varia sat arguing in their own little section.

Tsuna wasn't listening to the conversations going on around him and just started out the window as the plane prepared to take off. His thoughts were wandering to Kyoko. All he had done was worry about her. How could he not? With a sigh, he closed his eyes, feeling tired.

"You ok, boss?" Gokudera asked, his eyes concerned.

"Yeah, just a bit tired. I didn't sleep well last night." Tsuna admitted, managing a small smile.

"You should get some rest then, Tsuna." Reborn advised him. "We have an important task ahead and we can't have you falling asleep on us." His former tutor's harsh words told him that Reborn was a bit concerned about him as well.

"I guess I should." The plane began to rumble down the runway and Tsuna turned to watch the black tarmac pass by. It was going to be a long plane ride to Brazil so he decided to catch up on sleep. His closed his eyes, feeling as the plane's wheel's lifted off the ground and was replaced with the smooth feeling of flying.

* * *

When he woke up, they were in Brazil, halfway across the world. They had all disembarked the plane and were now driving down a dirt road to their location. Reborn had told them that the road was going to run out soon as the jungle began to eat away at the paved road. The scenery was breath taking, but Tsuna wasn't focused on that.

The trees grew thicker as the car bounced down the road. Sounds of wild animals could be heard and the sun glistened off a small tributary of the mighty Amazon River. Shouichi informed him that it wouldn't be long before they reached their destination.

"I wonder what challenge V is going to have us do?" Yamamoto commented as he fixed his tie. The humidity could be felt trying to creep into the car.

"Dunno. It'll be some twisted game no doubt." Gokudera said, arms folded across his chest.

"Maybe it'll be extreme crocodile wrestling!" Ryohei suggested.

"Crocodile wrestling? Ha, ha! That'd be interesting." Yamamoto chuckled a bit. "Almost reminds me of the time we hand that New Year's competition between Dino all those years ago. You attacked that crocodile with everything you got and still got our team bad luck!"

They all smiled at the memory. "That was back before all the ring conflict and when I didn't want to be a part of the mafia." Tsuna added.

"We're here." The car stopped and they all peered out. They were in the middle of a dense part of the forest that was unrecognizable to them. Cautiously, they stepped out and looked around. Chorus of different sounds and smells rose up around them.

"This is the first time I've ever been to Brazil." Dino said, looking at a bright red flower on the ground.

"Fascinating, isn't it?" Out of the shadows of the tree, strolled V, still wearing his hooded cloak despite the rainforest's thick heat.

"V!" Tsuna said, turning to him.

"Hello, Vongola and friends." V waved casually as if they were best buddies. "Ready to start the game?"

"Voooi! What game? I thought this was a challenge?" Squalo demanded, swiping his blade through the air.

"Calm down before you poke someone's eye out." V chided him, pulling out a lollipop. "Most games are challenging for people of your brain capacity."

"What did you say to me?" Squalo roared.

"Shishishi, I think he just insulted your intelligence." Bel chuckled, stroking the silver mink that was curled around his neck.

"He just called you stupid, Squalo." Fran translated. Squalo gave an angry roar and tried to lunge for him, but Lussuria and Yamamoto held him back.

"Hold on there, Squalo. You can save the violence for when the challenge starts." Yamamoto told him, but it did little to help the situation.

"Guess someone's ready to start the first game." V licked the lollipop and stretched out his arms. "Alright, the first challenge with be an extreme game of man hunt!" He proclaimed loud enough for everyone to hear, wearing his child-like smile on his face.

* * *

**How will the game of man hunt play out? How will the Vongola's play? Just what is V's obsession with sweets? If anyone has any ideas for the next location and game, please tell me in a review. Who knows, i might use it. Stay tuned as the Vongola's first trial begins! **


	4. Chapter 4: Your Greatest Opponent

**I apologize for it taking too long, but here it is, chapter 4. As an apology, i made it extra long. Brace yourself for the suspense as V's challenge gets under way. As always, i don't own KHR. Please read, review, and enjoy **

* * *

**Your Greatest Opponent**

"Man hunt? What in the world is man hunt?" Gokudera asked, staring at V in confusion.

"Geez, didn't you people ever play games when you were younger?" None of them responded and V let out a heavy sigh. "Alright, I guess I have to explain it. Basically man hunt is this: It's like hide and go seek on steroids or an extreme game of hide and go seek if you want to look at it that way."

"Extreme hide and go seek? I know how to play this then!" Ryohei exclaimed.

"And why are we playing hide and go seek? That's a kids' game!" the Storm Guardian protested.

"Aw, does the big, tough mafia man feel embarrassed to play a game in order to save his boss's beloved princess?" V gives and smiled as his words hit there mark.

"Why you! You are getting on my last nerve!" he shouted, startling some birds.

"V, stop teasing Gokudera and let's get on with this challenge of yours." Tsuna told him calmly.

"Fine, but if continues to be Mr. Killjoy, I'm going to keep the insults coming." V snapped his fingers and a giant hologram of a map appeared. "Let me start by saying that man hunt is nothing like hide and go seek. In this game each team will have six players. Vongola will be the blue team and I'll be the red team. Each team's objective is to get to the other side of the jungle. This is where we'll be playing." A huge section of the jungle became highlighted in blue. There was a bright red X at the end of the map. "The X is your objective. The area highlighted in blue is the playing field. There will be a barrier to keep the players in and the only exit is at the X. Unfortunately, the X is hidden so you'll have to have fun finding it." The X disappeared from the screen.

"So we all have to get to the end to win, right?" Yamamoto looked at the map carefully.

"Pretty much. You'll be using these GPSs to find your way around." With a wave of his hand, V made six GPSs appear in the guardian's hands.

"Shishishi, well this doesn't sound too hard." Bel sniggered. "Even a commoner could do this."

"That's what you think." V smiled, wiping the snigger from Bel's face.

"Vooi! What is that supposed to mean?" Squalo snapped.

"I forgot to mention that in man hunt, the team that is hiding has to get to the base _without _being caught by the other team."

"What happens when a person gets caught?"

"Every person on each team will have a colored bandana. You need to try get to the X without having your bandana taken. Once it's taken, you are out. If the team gets all their bandanas taken away and doesn't reach the exit anyway, then they are disqualified. You should at least try to reach the exit. Even though you might not win, at least you won't be disqualified. If they do get their bandanas stolen but make it to the exit, they are still out, but not disqualified. You can steal bandanas any way necessary, which includes attacking your opponent. You can use any means to get to your goal."

"So which side's stealing the bandanas?"

"Either team can steal, though your team will be the ones hiding and trying to get to the X. Some other info regarding the map, you'll only be able to see those who are on your team, not the enemy. My suggestion is to tread lightly. The forest if full of wild animals, dangerous plants, raging rivers, and who knows what else. You have miles and miles of forest to roam around in."

"Where is your team, V?" Dino asked.

"They'll be here soon; in about a few minutes or so." He replied. "Here's some last minute advice. Try not to get eaten by the wild animals in the forest. Also, try not to destroy the jungle when you end up fighting. Save the trees, ya know."

"Who cares about the trees? If we're fighting we're not gonna stop just so that we don't ruin a flower or something!" Gokudera hissed.

"I don't think the trees appreciated that." V crossed his arms across his chest and turned away from Gokudera. "Well when the trees decide that they don't want to give you any more oxygen, don't come crying to me."

"Wow, a villain who is totally insane, but cares about the environment; that's somehow hilarious!" Yamamoto said.

"Also, I suggest that you don't fall in the river." V said to them.

"Why is that?" Without a word, V threw a cookie into the frothing river. As it hit the water, an ominous shadow appeared. Suddenly, a giant turtle shot up into the air before crashing back down into the murky waters.

"What was that?"

"Is that were Enzo went. I was wondering where I lost him at." Dino muttered as his now giant turtle sank back down into the water. "Hey, Romario, remind me to go get Enzo after this is done. Who knows how big he'll get if we leave him there."

"Yes sir." Romario said to the mafia boss.

"Now, Vongola, choose your team of six. You can join in as a player. If you do, I'll join this round."

_If V is on the opposing side then I might have chance to take him out and end this whole thing. The question is, how do I mind him in the jungle? I don't even know what his skills are. I don't even know what I'm up against. I'll have to be careful. _Tsuna thought, thinking over this carefully. _I need to have a few of my guardians on the team and at least one Varia member. The question is who to choose? Gokudera will be mad if I don't choose him and he is a powerful asset. Hibari is a defiant. Yamamoto? Maybe…that's four so far…Fran is a Mist Ring user so that could come in handy…and Dino is only useful with his subordinates. He's out for this round. Squalo will be of great help; I doubt V has an experienced swordsmen like Squalo. Five and counting me that makes six. _

"Have you picked your team?" V asked.

"Yes. I choose Gokudera, Hibari, Yamamoto, Fran, Squalo, and myself." Tsuna replied, watching the amused smile spread across V's face.

"Interesting choice. Trying to draw me into the game? I bet you did that just so that you'd have a chance to fight me." It was V's turn to watch the expression on Tsuna's face. Tsuna knew that V had seen right through him. "Well, time to introduce my team then. Come on out, guys!" V extended a theatrical hand to the jungle as five figures appeared.

"What in the world?" Dino breathed as they figures stepped into the light.

"This is a sudden turn of events." Reborn muttered, pulling his hat down a bit.

"Why do you look so shocked, Vongola and friends?" V questioned. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Th-They look like us!" Gokudera pointed a finger at V's team. V's team did indeed look like the five people on Tsuna's team, right down to every last detail. "This is like the time Daemon Spade fought us when we took on the Primo's inheritance trials."

"Fran, is this an illusion?" Squalo asked, glaring at the copy of himself.

"No, it's not. They got my copy down real good." Fran stared curiously at his copy. "I'll tell you what is an illusion though. Bel sempai's eyes. I mean, I don't even know if they exist. Hey, Bel sempai, you do have eyes right? I mean, you're not just some Cyclops or something, right? Do you have a huge deformity under that hair of yours? Maybe that's why you got kicked out of your country." Fran tugged on a piece of Bel's hair.

"I'll make you have only one eye if you don't let go of my hair." Bel wore an evil grin on his face as he pulled out his knives and Fran let the blonde strands of hair go.

"This isn't an illusion? But how…how can they possibly be _us_?" Gokudera asked.

"What is this, V?" Tsuna questioned, taken off guard.

"It's exactly as it looks; my team looks exactly like your team." V replied innocently.

"This is sorta cool. I always thought what I'd be like to have another one of me." Yamamoto inspected his copy and the copy Yamamoto looked back at him.

"How can they be exactly like us?" Gokudera muttered, looking at the doppelgangers with distrust.

"Vooi! This is a load of bullsh-"

"I don't care if it looks like me, I'll bite it to death if it gets close." Hibari said coolly.

"I think I should mention one important detail. They aren't exactly like you." V pulled out a cookie, waving it in the air for flair.

"What is that supposed to mean?" It was Hibari's turn to ask a question.

"Aw, don't be like that, Hibari~" The Hibari clone sang, smiling. This caught

"What is this?" Hibari glared at the other Hibari.

"Is that…Hibari smiling? A for real smile?" Dino exclaimed. "I've never seen a happy face on Hibari. This is…freaky…and scary…Happy Hibari is scary."

"You need to stop frowning, Mr. Frowny!" The smiling Hibari said cheerfully. "I think you need a hug!"

"Take one more move and I'll bite you to death." Hibari warned, pulling out a tonfa.

"See what I mean! You need to turn that frown upside down! If you don't I'm gonna hug you!"

"Get close to me, and I'll rip your face off."

"As you can see, these guys are the opposite of you. They are in a sense like you, but have the opposite personalities." V explained.

"Haha! That is totally the opposite of Hibari!" Dino laughed as the real Hibari grew agitated at his smiling clone.

"Hey look at that! Hibari is fighting Hibari!" The clone Fran cried, pointing and waving his arm crazily through the air. "Ohmygosh! Look at that tree! It looks just like Bel sempai!" He pointed to a tree with thick drooping leaves. "I have a frog on my head! Ribbit! Look! It's so cute!"

"So the opposite of emotionless Fran is crack head Fran. Shishi, I'm glad that the Vongola didn't pick me for his team. But I wonder what Squalo's clone is like." Bel chuckled.

"That's mean, sempai." Fran whined in his emotionless voice. "I'm not emotionless." His glassy eyes gazed at they hyper Fran.

"I uh…don't know why I'm here…" the clone Squalo murmured, glancing around frightfully.

"Vooi! What's with this piece of trash?" the real Squalo roared pointing his sword at the clone, causing the clone to cower in fear.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Don't kill me!" he cried, covering his head with his hands.

"Shishishi, Squalo's clone is such a pansy!"

"Alright, you'll have time to get to know your clone later in the jungle. Now, before I grow old and die, here are the bandanas that you'll need." Another wave of his hand made twelve bandanas appear; half red and half blue. "Vongola, you'll be blue and my team will be red. Tie the bandanas somewhere on your person in a way that you think they'll be less likely to be stolen." V tied his bandana around his neck. "I'll give you five minutes to prepare before you guys go hide."

"Here, boss." Giannini walked up to the boss, holding out the headset with the number 27 printed on the side. Tsuna remembered it from the time they stormed the Milifiore base to find Shouichi.

"Thanks, Giannini." Tsuna slipped them on, satisfied that they still fit.

"Here are the Bluetooth's for the rest of the time in case you get separated." Giannini handed out the familiar black communicator devices.

"Tsuna, I don't trust that guy, something about him puts me on edge." Shouichi told him.

"I think he all gives us that feeling." Tsuna replied.

"Hey, Tsuna, let's do the totally extreme pre-battle huddle." Ryohei suggested.

"We haven't done that since we were kids." Gokudera mused.

"Well I think now's the perfect time! You too, Hibari."

"I'll bite you to death." Hibari shot back, glaring.

"Ok, we'll include you in spirit. Let's do this!" The Vongola formed a circle, their arms interlocking.

"Vongola Fight!" They cried and broke away.

"That felt strangely good." Yamamoto commented.

"Sure does bring back memories." Tsuna managed a smile.

"Vooi! Are you guys done now?" Squalo snapped.

"Calm down, Squalo. Don't get your sword all twisted in a knot." Yamamoto told him.

"Alright, time to begin!" V's voice brought them to attention. "When I say go, you guys will run into the barrier, but once you do, you can't get out until you get to the X. you'll have half an hour to find a good place to hide before we come to find you. Each team will have three hours to reach the X. anyone who doesn't reach the X is disqualified." V told them as the Vongola team walked up to the barrier that shown faintly in the sunlight. "There will be a timer on this map and on your GPSs. The audience members will be able to watch the action from this monitor." V pointed to a giant flat screen that appeared on a tree.

"When did that get there?"

"Doesn't matter to you. Does anyone have any questions?"

Fran raised his hand. "What happens if we get caught by a wild animal?"

"Try to survive without killing it. if not, you'll end up dying." V smiled. "Alright, no more questions? Then, let the games begin!" He pulled out a pistol from under his cloak and fired it into the air, its single, staccato echo ringing in the air.

The Vongola took off into the thick underbrush, not really knowing which way to go. Without having to say what they were all thinking, they decided to split up and ended up going separate ways. Tsuna raced head long into the trees and thick bushes, not knowing where he should hide.

_I have a half an hour to find a place to hide. After that, I'll start by finding V. if I can find him off guard, then I can end this and save Kyoko. I'll tell the others to head on towards the X without me._

"Tenth, can you hear me?" Gokudera's voice crackled through the headset.

"Yeah, I can hear you, Gokudera."

"Will you be fine on your own?"

"You know me. I'll be fine. You guys just concentrate on finding the X as soon as possible." Tsuna told him. "Pass that along to the others."

"Are you sure, boss?" Gokudera asked again.

"Yeah, I'm going to take on V and try to end this as soon as possible."

"If you say so, tenth." He said and his voice clicked off. Tsuna stopped under a tree with bright red flowers to catch his breath.

"I hope you're safe, Kyoko." Tsuna muttered aloud, pulling out the charm, staring at its battered appearance. "I know this charm will keep me and everyone safe again." He slipped it back into its special pocket and looked around. There was no shortage of hiding spots. The problem was choosing one that wouldn't be hiding some wild or poisonous creature. "Maybe I should hide in a tree." Slipping on his X gloves, Tsuna summoned his dying will flame and used the flames to shoot into the air.

The tree towered hundreds of feet into the air, and when he finally reached the top, he was stunned by the view. He could see miles and miles of trees extending into the horizon all around. He couldn't spot the X mark, but it had to be around somewhere. He settled into a branch of the tree, his flame extinguishing.

"And now I wait."

* * *

Half an hour passed and V's team was already in the forest, combing through searching for the Vongolas.

"Where do you think they might be?" Happy Hibari asked Hyper Fran.

"Dunno, but they gotta be around here somewhere-Squirrel!" Fran shouted, stopping suddenly as something moved in the bushes. "Nope, guess it was just a lemur."

"Fran you're so ADHD." Happy Hibari told him, smiling.

"Hey look, I found Gloomy Hibari!" Fran pointed to Hibari who was hiding in the bushes.

"I see him~" Happy Hibari shot towards the real Hibari, crashing through the vegetation. "Huh?" He looked around and found Hibari gone. "Where'd he go?"

"I hoped not to see your face again." Hibari said from behind the clone. "Since you're so persistent on getting in my way, I'll play with you two a bit." Hibari drew his tonfas and spikes popped up along the metal rods.

"Well, good luck with that!" Fran waved, turning to leave.

"Are you running away?" Hibari questioned.

"Nope! I'm just gonna find the guy who looks like me!" Fran smiled and vanished.

"I see. So that's how it works." A smile slide across Hibari's face as he pieced everything together. "Now, I'm going to bite you to death so I can get this ridiculous challenge over with."

"It's that attitude of yours that makes you so gloomy and scary!" Happy Hibari told him. "I think you need a hug!"

"Try to touch me and you'll die."

"So scary! Secret Hug Attack!" Happy Hibari lunged for him, arms outstretched, and Hibari swung the tonfa in a deadly uppercut. Happy Hibari dodged quickly and landed lightly on his feet. "Wow that was scary!"

"You move good for a clone, but that won't be enough to save you!" Hibari came at the clone again, almost an invisible blur. The clone countered the attack with a tonfa of his own and the two began a vicious, lightning fast battle in the forest.

* * *

"Sounds like Hibari and Happy are having fun." V smiled as he flew through the trees, looking on his monitor as the other clones found their look a likes. "I'm sure the Vongola's will find that their clones don't just look like them, they also fight like them despite their personalities. Their greatest opponents are themselves." He chuckled as he swerved to avoid a tree. "Well, let's see where the Vongola boss is hiding in wait. He so badly wanted to get me out on the field so I'd better not disappoint him."

V's eyes scanned the jungle, listening as the wind rustled the trees and to the wild animal calls echoing all around. The dapple light that managed to stream through lit up the jungle floor.

"Vongola, where are you~?" He called.

Tsuna's eyes suddenly opened and he stood up. He could sense someone coming. _What's this feeling? I can't tell who it is so it might be an enemy. _Tsuna jumped down the tree, branch to branch. He landed on the ground and scanned the brush.

"Watcha lookin at, Vongola?" V's unexpected voice made him turn around quickly.

"V!" He hissed.

"Yes?" V smiled. "You were looking for me, no?"

Tsuna slipped on the mittens and popped in a dying will pill. "V, I'm going to end this now." His eyes grew more confident. Natsu jumped onto Tsuna's shoulder, letting out a growl.

"Cool! I was wondering when you'd jump in and fight me." V took no defensive or offensive stance. He just floated in the air causally. "You even brought out your kitty cat. This should be fun."

"I'm coming." Tsuna put his hands behind him and blasted into the air with a burst of flame. "Prepare yourself, V."

"'Prepare yourself, V…'" V pulled out a notebook and jotted down what Tsuna had said. "That's a cliché one, but I won't deduct points just for that."

Tsuna went for V in his moment of distraction, hoping to catch him off guard. V dropped to the ground as Tsuna's fist passed overhead. Putting away his notebook, V glanced up as Tsuna changed directions, aiming towards the ground with a flaming fist.

"Hoping to catch me on the ground: not half bad, Vongola. But you'll have to do better than that." He smiled and fled to the left. Tsuna's first crashed into the ground, leaving a crater in the spot where V had been.

_He's fast and all he's doing is dodging. _Tsuna thought and tried to use his hyper intuition to predict where V would land next. He wasn't going to give V time to react. He changed directions and swiped at the villain. V smirked and missed Tsuna's glove by a hair. Another onslaught of fists came at V and he just avoided them with lightning quick movements that appeared as just a blur.

"You're fast, Vongola, but apparently not that fast." V told him, dodging the flying fists as if it was child's play. "How can you be a mafia boss if you can't even hit me. Are you even trying 'cause I'm not."

This only made Tsuna's efforts to land a blow increase in speed. V still would not be struck and Tsuna was growing rather irritated and tried to keep a level head, but Kyoko's scared face made his blood race.

"I know that you're mad, but why don't you show it? Afraid to lose your cool? Let loose!" V suddenly lashed out with an almost invisible move that caught Tsuna off guard as the blow struck him in the chin.

_What the-? He's so fast? _Tsuna thought as he crashed through the bushes, hitting a tree heavily. Natsu growled at V as he landed on the ground, sniffing his master nervously.

"Well, if you want to beat me, you need to summon all your strength to do so otherwise you won't be able to save your woman." Before Tsuna could get up, V vanished in a swirl of leaves.

Tsuna ground his teeth together as he pulled himself up on his feet, wincing as a sharp pain shot through his side. "V!" he shouted, his voice ringing through the trees. As his dying will flame extinguished, he began walking slowly aimlessly through the jungle, looking for the X.

_He's right…I want to save Kyoko, more than anything, but what's holding me back? _

* * *

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the jungle, the rest of the Vongola team was dealing with their vicious other halves. Squalo's timid half may have cowered in fear every time Squalo yelled at him, but he fought on equal footing with the real Squalo. Gokudera's clone was stupid and unorganized, but fought like hell, using the same Sistema CAI that Gokudera used. Somewhere nearby Gokudera, Yamamoto fought with his baseball-hating, serious double. Hibari was still struggling with his happy self and Fran tried to deal with his enthusiastic clone.

The others outside of the barrier watched the monitor nervously. There seemed to be no break to the fighting and time was slowly draining away.

"This doesn't look good." Shouichi muttered, staring at the part of the monitor that held Tsuna's image.

"How can they possibly fight against themselves?" Giannini wiped swat from his glistening face.

"They sure have their work cut out for them…" Dino said.

"They can do it! I extremely know that they can!" Ryohei told them confidently.

"Shishishi, I wouldn't mind if Fran died. One less person to get in my way." Bel mused, looking at the screen with little interest.

"That V guy…he's seems stronger than Tsuna…" Shouichi said. "He's fast and doesn't look like he's kidding around."

"Tsuna and the others will have to overcome this challenge on their own if they want to save Kyoko." Reborn pointed out and they slipped into silence.

_This guy just won't give up! What can I do to beat him? I have to find the tenth and get to the exit! _Gokudera shot an explosive round of Storm flames. at his opponent and felt frustrated as the fake Gokudera deflected it with the CAI's shields.

"What kind of attack was that? That was lame!" The fake Gokudera shouted.

"Shut up, you cheap fake!" Gokudera shouted back. _How can I defeat him if he's just like me and fights just like me? Wait…even if his personality is different…he's still me…That must mean that he has my same weaknesses…That's it! if I can use my weakness against him I might be able to win. If I use that if might just work and this guy's an idiot so it's worth a shot. _ Gokudera stopped and lowered his weapon. "Bianchi?" He suddenly cried, pointing over the other Gokudera's shoulder.

"Bianchi? Where?" The fake Gokudera grew fearful and looked around.

"Gotcha! Uri! Cambio Forma!" Gokudera held out his hand as Uri transformed into G's Archery. "Disappear!" Gokudera pulled back the bow and let the multiple Flame arrows at the unprepared fake.

"Crap!" he turned just as the arrows struck him in the chest. He fell to the ground and lay still, his eyes staring up at the sky.

"It worked…" Gokudera breathed, the bow disappearing. Uri returned to his shoulder, running his paw over his ears. "Now I can go find the boss." He swiped the red bandana from the fake and continued through the forest. "Guys! Can you hear me?" He asked the others over the Bluetooth.

"Vooi! Now's not the best of times!" Squalo shouted in his ear.

"What's on your mind, Gokudera?" Yamamoto asked over the sound of clashing swords.

"The clones, their weakness is whatever your weaknesses are! You have to use those weaknesses against them to win." He told them.

"I could have figured that out on my own, trash!"

"Well then why haven't you finished your fight yet?" Gokudera shot back angrily.

"None of your business!"

"I'm going to go find the boss. Try to meet up at the exit as soon as possible." Gokudera listened as the Bluetooth fell silent. On his GPS, all six dots remained online, a good sign that everyone was still in the game. "Boss, can you hear me? Are you safe?"

Tsuna heard Gokudera's voice as he flew through the trees, searching frantically for the exit for hours. Not much timed remained and the race for time had reached a feverish point. 'Yes, I can hear you. I'm fine. I fought with V…"

"You did? Did you win?"

"No…he got away…I'm looking for the exit right now. He's probably there by now."

"That insane freak! It's cheating if he's playing! He probably knows where the exit is!" Gokudera said irritably.

"Most likely, but I don't think we should worry about that know. How are the others?"

"They're fine, I figured out how to defeat the clones." Gokudera told him.

"That's good; that gives us an edge." Tsuna suddenly stopped, spotting two signs planted in a forked road in the jungle. The sign on the right said "Go this way! " and the one on the left said "Abandon all hope all who enter here." _What is this? Is this V's doing? _

"Boss? Is something wrong?" Gokudera asked. "You stopped talking.

'It's nothing, just came to a fork in the road." Tsuna replied.

"A road? In the jungle? It must be a trap."

"I wonder…" Tsuna stared at the signs. Something felt off. "Hey, Gokudera, I'll talk to you later. Right now there's something I need to check."

"Sure thing boss!" The headset switched off and Tsuna peered hard into the forest past the signs. Nothing looked different or suspicious, but he couldn't shake this weird feeling he had. He placed his hand out in front of him. "Operation X." He said and his contacts switched on.

"Understood. Target locked." A voice echoed inside the headphones. Tsuna stuck his other hand out behind him, blasting flames behind him. The gauge on the contacts began to rise as the flames built up pressure. "Flames at maximum power." The voice warned.

"X-Burner." Tsuna unleashed the powerful flames and they blasted through the forest in front of him. It last only a few seconds before the flames died away.

He lowered his hands staring at the hole that he had created in the barrier. The forest along the barrier was fake, but looked strikingly real. Tsuna saw a room on the other side of the hole and made his way towards it.

_The barrier looks like the forest, but there's a room on the other side? _Tsuna stepped into the clean white room. _Is this the exit?_

"Welcome, Vongola, you reached the exit first." V's voice made his head snap around. "But did you really need to bust a hole through it?" on the other wall was a smoldering hole where Tsuna's X-Burner had cut through.

"V!" Tsuna exclaimed. V was sitting at a table sipping a cup of coffee as he nibbled on a plate of cookies.

"Yes?" V glanced at him curiously. "Who else were you excepting?"

"Did you know where the exit was?" Tsuna demanded.

"I'm hurt that you'd accuse me of such a thing! No, that'd be cheating. I hid it and had to find it just like you did." V told him. "Don't look so tense. You can relax and wait for the others to come. I'm not gonna fight you here since this is the safe zone so have a seat and drink some coffee."

Tsuna just glared at him and turned back to the hole in the barrier, looking deep into the thick greenery. "Listen, everyone, if you can hear me then please listen. I've found the exit so try to follow my location," At first all he heard was static and began to worry.

"They've got ten minutes to get here~" V sang, shoving another cookie in his mouth. Several minutes ticked by off silence and Tsuna's heart began to sink.

"Hey, good job, boss! I knew you'd find it!" Yamamoto's voice through the headset helped to settle his worrying nerves.

"Yamamoto…" he breathed. "Where are you?"

"I'm following Hibari at the moment and I can see a hole up a head." He replied. "If Gokudera hadn't of told us that hint then we'd probably still be fighting. Lucky for us he figured it out. We got their bandanas by the way."

"I defeated my opponent even without that guy's help." Hibari said adamantly.

"Vongola, is the challenge over yet?" Fran whined, joining in on the conversation.

"As soon as you get your sorry butt to the exit it will be!" Squalo snapped.

"I'm glad to see that you are all ok." Tsuna told them. He glanced at his GPS as the dots got closer. There was one dot lagging behind, severely behind. _Who's that far behind? _He looked up at the timer that had slipped into the single digit numbers. There was only three minutes left. _Will they make it in time?_

Tsuna spotted Yamamoto and Hibari as they came within a yard of the exit. Yamamoto gave him as a smile as they stepped into the room.

"Wow, who knew that there'd be a room here?" Yamamoto observed. His eyes landed on V and fell silent.

"Were you the one who created that worthless copy?" Hibari asked V.

"Probably, I can't remember." V didn't look at him and focused on his coffee.

"I'll bite you to death for that thing." Hibari drew his tonfa and V held up a hand.

"I wouldn't do that. I might end up pressing this button that says DO NOT TOUCH and who knows what will happen to a certain princess." V held up a switch with a bright red button. "I do like to press buttons."

"Hibari, let it go." Tsuna told him, growing nervous as he stared at the button.

Suddenly, the rest of V's team appeared at the exit and walked in, looking half dead. Tsuna's team grew tense as they passed by to stand behind V.

"Looks like my team's here." V said.

"Vooi! What kind of challenge is this?" Squalo roared as he entered the room, looking more pissed than usual. "Why are you having tea time here?"

"Is the challenge over now?" Fran asked, standing next to the silver-haired swordsman. They all looked beat up and dirty under the lights, a sign that their fights hadn't been easy.

"But where's Gokudera?" Tsuna looked around, searching for the Storm Guardian. Suddenly his eyes snapped back to the clock that had dissolved down to only one minute remaining.

"Boss! I can see the hole in the barrier and I'm coming now!" Gokudera's voice made him jump as worry made Tsuna's heart pound nervously.

"Gokudera! You need to hurry! There's less than a minute left on the clock." Tsuna's eyes darted tensely from the clock to the hole, searching for Gokudera. The anxiety was making his feel on edge. He could hear the blood roaring in his ears.

"I got it boss!" Gokudera replied. "I'm almost there!"

"Hurry!" The numbers were quickly disappearing.

"I see you, boss!" Tsuna turned as saw Gokudera appear through the trees, racing at full speed towards to exit.

"He's gonna make it!" Giannini exclaimed as they stood holding their breath on the other side.

Out of nowhere, the fake Gokudera jumped out of the bushes and talked Gokudera, knocking him to the ground.

"Gokudera!" Tsuna made a move to go help him.

"If you walk out then you lose and Kyoko will suffer." V's words stopped him. "Which will it be? You're friend or the girl?"

"That's dirty!" Yamamoto hissed.

Gokudera shook the fake off and continued towards where the others were waiting. It looked like he was going to make it.

"5…4…3…2…" V counted down as Gokudera got closer. He was feet from Tsuna now. "…1!" Suddenly, a blinding light erupted outside the room.

"Gokudera!" Tsuna shouted. Gokudera had been inches away from the safe zone, so close that Tsuna could see the shock on his friend's face.

"I'm sorry, boss…It looks like I didn't make it…in time…" Gokudera managed an apologetic smile as the light enveloped everything. It became so bright that Tsuna had to turn away to cover his eyes.

"Gokudera!"

* * *

**Now what will become of the Vongola's? What has happened to the beloved Gokudera? Is V really that insane? What is with him and the environment? Moreover, how can there be a smiling Hibari? More and more questions unfold as the game continues...  
**


	5. Chapter 5: Price of Winning

**Sorry, but this is another short chapter. The transitions between challenges will always be shorter then the main fights. As usually, i don't own KHR. Please read, review, and enjoy. **

* * *

**The Price of Winning  
**

The blinding light began to fade, returning the forest to normal. Tsuna and the others lowered the arms protecting their eyes and stared out through the hole. The forest was undisturbed, almost as if nothing happened. Gokudera and his clone were gone though.

"Gokudera...?" Tsuna choked, his eyes searching frantically for signs of the Storm Guardian.

"Seems like Gokudera and his clone have been eliminated." V said, shattering the shocked atmosphere. He tapped the table and a monitor appeared on the wall. It showed the teams on the screen with pictures of each person. a giant red X covered Gokudera's picture and the clone's picture.

"V!" Tsuna yelled, grabbing him by his cloak. "What have you done with Gokudera?" His eyes were burning with rage.

"Easy! Down boy! You're wrinkling my cloak!" V protested as he was lifted out of his chair. The unexpected movement knocked the chair back onto the floor, causing a loud, clamor as it hit the ground.

"Tsuna!" Yamamoto tried to pry him off, but the boss shoved him off.

"Back off, Yamamoto! V, what did you do with Gokudera?" Tsuna shot at V, his voice dangerously low. V gave a low chuckle under his breath. "What's so funny? What did you do to Gokudera?"

"Calm down before you ruin my outfit any further. If you keep this up, I might do something like press this button." He warned, holding up the remote, his finger hovering centimeters away from the button. Tsuna dropped V and stepped back, shaking.

"What did you do…with Gokudera?" Tsuna repeated, his voice trembling with anger.

"Dunno. He and the other one are gone." V replied, smoothing out his wrinkled cloak.

"What do you mean by that?"

"They. Are. Gone. Did I stutter or something?" V asked, propping himself back in the chair. "They have been eliminated and I don't even know where they ended up. All I know is that you have to keep fighting otherwise Gokudera's defeat will be in vain. Also, if you lose, his life and Kyoko's will be in jeopardy.

_He's using my guardians as hostages to keep me playing in this messed up game! I have to win, not just for Kyoko's sake but for Gokudera's as well. I have to bring this guy down to end it all. _Tsuna thought, glaring at V.

"Be happy, Vongola, you've won this round. You have one point and get to spin the wheel again." V lifted his cloak up and pulled out the wheel. "Go ahead; spin the wheel. The longer you take the longer Kyoko and Gokudera suffer."

"V…" Tsuna growled, his hands coiling into fists. The Vongola Sky ring was digging into his finger as he tightened his grip.

"Are you gonna spin it or do you need help?"

"I can do it…" Without making eye contact with the enemy, Tsuna walked up and spun the wheel. Everyone watched it as if spun around and around, hitting the pegs until it began to slow down.

"Where will we go next…?" V muttered as the wheel came to a stop. The tape was removed to reveal the location. "Well, looks like it's the Bermuda Triangle. Sweet."

"The Bermuda Triangle? Isn't that just a place in the ocean?" Yamamoto asked.

"Hey, sempai, isn't that place known as the Devil's Triangle?" Fran inquired.

"Shishishi, this might get interesting. A cursed place." Bel mused.

"Well, looks like we're headin' to the Bahamas first." V pulled out a pair of sunglasses and put them on. "I'll let you choose the game this time. So, Vongola, what do you want to play?"

Tsuna stared at the wheel intently, searching his brain for games that he used to play. He was searching for a game that would be less dangerous even if V managed to make it completely crazy like he did with man hunt. Since he never played many games as a kid, his selection was limited.

"I choose Battleships." He said finally, making up his mind.

"Battleships? Are you sure?" V tested, a smile creeping across his face.

"I'm positive." Tsuna replied.

"Alright then. You have eighteen hours to get to the Bahamas. You might as well try to rest and prepare yourself for tomorrows match. You also have the option of choosing your team again. I'll see you then, young Vongola, at dawn." V clapped his hands together and a puff of purple smoke enveloped him and his team. As the smoke cleared, V had disappeared. Suddenly, the walls of the room fell outwards and disappeared. Tsuna and the others found themselves standing in the forest; all signs of V's room were gone.

"Hey, Bel-sempai, is that V guy a magician or something?" Fran asked, looking around.

"Shishishi, like I care."

"Vooi! So what are we going to do now, Vongola?" Squalo roared, turning to the boss.

"We need to make our way back to the others so that we can get to the airport." Tsuna told him and began to walk back through the trees, his guardians following behind him.

"Tsuna, are you alright?" Yamamoto fell into pace with his friend, looking at him with concern. "Are you handling…the loss of Gokudera alright?"

"Don't call it a loss! He's not dead!" He shouted, but then stopped. He knew that his guardians were always at risk and that everyday could be their last. Even though he had been telling himself this for years, he still wasn't emotionally prepared for a sudden loss.

"It'll be alright, Tsuna." The Rain Guardian put his hand on the boss's shoulder comfortingly. "Gokudera is too stubborn to go down without a fight. He'll be fine. We just have to keep winning so that we can rescue both him and Kyoko."

"You're right…I'm sorry…" Tsuna bowed his head in shame. A sudden wave of fatigued swept over him. _I'm hopeless…I couldn't even protect Gokudera. What kind of boss am I? _

Squalo noticed that Tsuna seemed to be feeling sorry for himself and grew enraged. Before anyone could stop him, he grabbed Tsuna by his suit and pulled his face close to his. Hibari and Yamamoto grew tense, slowly reaching for their weapons when the sensed their boss in trouble.

"I wouldn't if I were you." Bel warned them.

"Vooi! Quit wearing that depressed look on your face! Your guy is gone so move on! If you give up now everything will be for nothing! I refuse to be on a team with someone who gives up after the first round. What kind of boss are you?" Squalo shouted.

Tsuna stared at him in bewilderment, stunned by the Varia's swordsmen's words. "I-"

"No exscuses! Are you a boss or are you a coward? Well, what are you?"

"You're…you're right." Tsuna answered, removing Squalo's hands from his suit. 'I can't just stand around having a pity party for myself; that won't help us defeat V. come on, let's get going." Tsuna walked past Squalo without looking back.

"Well, seems like you aren't total trash after all." Squalo smirked and folded suit.

"Who knew that shouting in someone's face with a rapist face would turn out to be so encouraging." Fran said jumping over a tree root as he followed everyone.

"Shut up!" Squalo snapped.

* * *

After regrouping with the others, the Vongola family boarded the jet. They took off to the next location that was an hour and a half away. Tsuna looked out the tiny window at the endless expanse of ocean that appeared through the cloud cover.

His thoughts were focused on Kyoko and Gokudera. He wondered if they were alright and safe. The sun was beginning to set and his eyelids felt heavy. Slowly, despite himself, Tsuna slipped off into a heavy sleep. Muddled images of the challenge took the place of dreams.

Yamamoto watched his boss in his unpleasant sleep. "Do you think he'll be ok?" Dino asked, watching his young friend.

"Yeah, he's just beating himself up over what happened…" Yamamoto replied in a low voice. The inside of the plane was quiet; no one felt much like talking. Even the hot blooded Varia members were silent.

"This loss will help strengthen his resolve." Reborn said, awakening from his momentary sleep before slipping into silence again.

"Either that or it will overwhelm him…" Shouichi muttered.

"Hey, none of that negative talk!" Ryohei told him. "Our boss is extremely tough! He's dealt with more dangerous things than this and made it through with his dying will! I'm extremely sure that he'll do the same again!"

"You're right…Tsuna's not one to just give up…He may have been like that in the past, but now he has something to fight for."

* * *

When Tsuna awoke, it was pitch black out as the plane hit the runway of the small airport. With a yawn, he cracked open his eyes and stretched, looking around in a groggy state.

"Good morning, sleepyhead!" Dino smiled. "I thought we were gonna have to shake you to wake you."

"I thought about drawing on his face." Reborn suggested.

"Thanks guys…" Tsuna smiled a bit and stood up.

"Vooi!" Squalo's voice chased away all traces of sleep from the boss. "Where are we going now?"

"Well, we have until dawn before the next challenge starts." Giannini pointed out. "We might as well rest up at the Vongola's private hotel on the beach."

"Sounds good!"

"What do ya say, Tsuna?" Dino turned to him.

"Since we have nothing else to do but wait, we might as well." He said as they climbed into the cars waiting for them.

"It's settled then." Tsuna leaned back in the leather seat, eyes staring out the window again.

He was thinking of possible situations that V might throw out at them. Tsuna knew that no matter who he put on his team, V would just use their opposites against them. They had to be on their toes if they wanted to make it through this match without losing anyone in the process, but he knew that it was always a possibility. It was always a possibility and in some cases it was inevitable.

No matter what, they were in this thing to win it. The Vongola team was now fighting for two people. It was their duty to fight the enemy to ensure the peace of the family.

* * *

**Just a game of battleships? How hard could it be? Who will Tsuna choose to be on his team now? How many losses will the Vongola suffer before they can defeat V? What challenges lay ahead for them? If anyone has an idea for a game, put it in a review and i might use it. **


	6. Chapter 6: You sunk my battleship

**Well, it's been awhile. Yeah, yeah, I know; I'm behind on updating. I've been in an ADHD mood ever since school got out and I've been living up all of summer's goodness. That includes laziness and procrastination. I finally got around to finishing this chapter. It might be a bit short, and I'm sorry for that. As always, please read, review, and enjoy.  
**

* * *

**You sunk my battle ship**

The faint morning light landed on the dazed mafia boss as he stirred from the holds of sleep. Still feeling lethargic, he stretched his sore muscles. His mind was blank of yesterday's events; it too was starting to wake up as well.

"Hey, Tsuna, you up?" Yamamoto's voice reached his ears as he sat up in his bed.

"Yamamoto…" Tsuna looked up and saw his old friend standing in the doorway.

"Hey, boss, are you gonna wake up any time soon?" Yamamoto teased as he walked towards the window and flew open the blinds.

"You don't need to tell me…" Tsuna squinted against the harsh light as Yamamoto flicked on the lights. Outside, dawn's hand was slowly stretching across the sky.

"Voii! Are you still not up yet, trash?" Squalo burst into the room, waving his sword around. "Come on, get up!" Tsuna jumped at the sound of the swordsmen's shouts. "Are you up?" he shouted in his face.

"Y-Yes! I-I'm up!" Tsuna stammered, quivering a bit as he hopped out of the bed. Not wanting to face the Varia's wrath, he quickly searched for his clothes, dressing faster than lightning.

"Good! Now get your butt out of this room so that we can go slice that V guy to pieces!" Squalo roared, making Tsuna jump again.

"That's Squalo for you; always interject no matter what time of the day." Yamamoto laughed and Tsuna hurried to obey Squalo. For a moment he felt like his middle school self all those years ago.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he growled, turning on the Rain Guardian with blazing eyes.

"Nothing, nothing," Yamamoto assured him appealingly until the man settled down. Tsuna ran his fingers through his bushy hair as he straightened his tie in the mirror in the bathroom.

_I need to find a way to defeat V as soon as possible. I need to find Kyoko…This match…I will bring him down! _Tsuna thought, running his fingers over the heavy ring on his finger. In his coat pocket were the mittens that Leon had spat out all those years ago.

"Let's go, Yamamoto." Tsuna turned and left with a determined stride. "Are the others

up yet?"

"I'll go check. I know Hibari is up for sure," Yamamoto informed his boss as he followed with Squalo.

"Good. As soon as everyone is up, we'll head out," the mafia boss said as he walked down the hallway of the hotel that the Vongola were staying at. "I need to find Gokudera and-" He stopped himself as he suddenly remembered what had happened. Gokudera was gone, a victim of V's challenge. Tsuna's faced darkened as he stopped suddenly, clenching his fists together.

Yamamoto sensed his friend's change in mood and placed a steadying hand on his shoulder. "Tsuna, boss, don't worry about Gokudera. We're all worried about him, but he'd want you to go on strong. You know he'd give you one of his famous lectures if he saw you sulking," the guardian told his boss.

"I know…but I…it was my fault for letting this happen…" Tsuna muttered. Squalo suddenly pushed him forward hard, making Tsuna stumbled. "What was that for?"

"If you have time to stand around sulking then you have time to prepare yourself for the upcoming challenge. What are you, a weakling?" Squalo sneered and continued down the hallway, not waiting for the others to follow. "I knew you were soft, but I didn't think that you'd call it quits after things get a little bit tough. Man up, trash!"

"Hey, Squalo…" Yamamoto said.

"No, he's right. I need to keep moving forward. I can't stop here. Now, I have to win this, not just for Kyoko, but for Gokudera as well," Tsuna told him and lifted his head.

"Voi! That's more like it!" Squalo gave him an approving smile as Tsuna took the lead.

Walking through the doors of the hotel, Tsuna was greeted by the rest of his family out in the front of the building on the beach. The rolling of the waves and the smell of salt greeted him as he looked over them. Everything was bathed in a pinkish blue light as the sun crept over the beach. The sand crunched under Tsuna's shoes as he walked over to the mafia members.

"Morning, boss!" Giovanni greeted him.

"Tsuna, you're still the last one up, as usual," Reborn reprimanded him as he pushed his hat up. Leon sat perched on the brim, watching everything with his wide yellow eyes. Beside the Acrobaleno stood the ever present Bianchi, silent as the sun creeped over the horizon.

"I'm sorry; I had a lot on my mind." Tsuna looked up and met Bianchi's gaze. Her eyes had a flash of uncertainty. She too was feeling the weight of losing her brother, but she didn't let anything else show. Instead, Bianchi stood with determination, managing a small smile for the boss.

"Is everyone ready?" Tsuna said, ruffling his hair a bit.

"Ready to the extreme, Tsuna!" Ryohei cried, pumping the sky with his bandaged fist. "Let's do this thing!"

"Is this guy always this energetic, Bel-sempai?" Fran asked in his same monotone voice.

"Shishishi, what an idiot," Bel sniggered.

"Well, glad to see everyone if up bright and early with cheery smile!" They all turned to where the sudden voice had appeared. Sitting on the railing of a huge white ship, sat V, sipping a drink from half of a coconut, the breeze playing with the mini umbrella next to the straw.

"V!" Tsuna said coldly, his eyes narrowing.

"Are you going to do that every time we meet? Honestly, you sound like a character from a tv show or something who calls out the bad guy's name every time they see each other. It's getting old, Vongola," V sighed, pausing from his drink to give Tsuna a disappointed look.

"What are you doing here, V?" Tsuna asked.

"I thought it would be obvious by now. I'll always show up before the challenge starts to tell you where you'll be going. It wouldn't be much of a game if I didn't tell you where you'd be going, now would it? I'll let your ignorance slide for today, but try not to be so stupid in the future, young Vongola."

"How dare you insult the boss!" Giannini hissed.

"Anyway, moving right along. These are the coordinates for where we'll be playing." V threw a GPS to Tsuna. The boss caught it and studied the flashing map in his hands.

"The Bermuda Triangle…?" he said questioningly.

"That's right!"

"Hey, isn't that place supposed to be haunted or something? I heard crazy things happen there…" Shouichi muttered, fixing his glasses nervously.

"You're very right, four eyes! The Bermuda Triangle is said to have a weird field around it. Strange disappearances happen there that can't be explained. It's said to be a cursed place," V told them with a creepy smile on his face.

"C-Cursed?" Shouichi's face grew pale and sickly.

"Yup! A perfect place to play a game!"

"I don't feel so good…" Shouichi groaned, holding his stomach.

"Voi! What are you? A coward?" Squalo shouted at him, making him shied away.

"I guess Shouichi's stomach still cramps up when he's nervous," Yamamoto commented.

"Are you alright, Shouichi?" Giannini asked him.

"I-I'll be fine…" the redhead managed to say, his face still pale.

"Well, looks like I know the one person you_ won't _be choosing for this challenge," V said and Shouichi glared at him from behind his glasses.

"So what is it that we'll be doing?" Ryohei asked.

"We'll be playing battleships, like the young boss suggested. The rules will be the same as the regular game of battle ships, only each person chosen will be on a ship. There will be five ships, so five people per team. For those of you who don't know the rules of the game, each team has five ships that are placed secretly so that the other team doesn't know where they are. Then each team has to guess the location of the ships using coordinates on a 10 by 10 grid."

"I still don't understand!" Ryohei said.

"This guy must have rocks for brains…" V sighed. "The objective of the game is to sink the opposing team's battle ship. Each ship has a different number of spots, meaning places that it can be hit before it is sunk. Once all the ship's spots are hit, it is sunk. When all the ships on a team are sunk, that team loses. Are you still following or do I need to make note cards for you?"

"This game makes my head hurt to the extreme!" Ryohei cried, running his fingers through his hair furiously.

"Calm down, Ryohei. Get a hold of yourself!" Dino told him, grabbing ahold of the Sun Guardian's shoulders to steady him.

"Shishishi, looks like that guy's a complete idiot. No brains at all," Bel sniggered.

"Ah, but that what makes him so cute~!" Lussuria gushed.

"Voi! Cut out that crap, Lussuria!" Squalo roared.

"Geez, you're such a killjoy, Squalo," Lussuria sighed.

"I guess the Vongola Sun Guardian isn't the strategist in their group," Fran pointed out.

"So, now that we've gotten the location and rules out of the way, I guess we should get around to picking out the players for this round," V said, regaining everyone's attention. "So, Vongola, who will you chose this time to play in the game?" V's tone was condescending, almost challenging Tsuna.

"Give me a second," Tsuna replied and V sighed.

"Fine, do what you wish. I'll be waiting," he replied and Tsuna turned back to his guardians.

Tsuna stared at the group of people before him, deciding hard on who he could chose for the next challenge. It was hard, knowing that if they messed up, one of them might very well end up like Gokudera; he didn't want that. But he knew that it was an ever present possibility.

_This is not easy…No matter how I look at it…I can't pick anyone knowing that they could be…taken out…_Tsuna thought miserably. He couldn't just pick them knowing that he might lose them. It was almost unbearable.

"Tsuna, don't worry about us. We'll be fine," Yamamoto spoke first, jolting Tsuna from his thoughts.

"You're thinking about how we might lose, are you?" Reborn asked him.

"Way to make us feel weak, boss," Lambo sighed. "Here I thought you had more faith in us."

"How arrogant," Hibari muttered, arms crossed across his chest.

"Don't worry about us, boss! We won't lose to that guy!" Ryohei said loudly with confidence.

"Trust in us, Tsuna. We're not only doing this for Kyoko and Gokudera, but for our pride as Vongola," Bianchi told him.

"That's right! It's for the pride of the Vongola family! We won't lose to anyone! We'll be that guy to the extreme!"

"The pride of the Vongola family…" Tsuna repeated in a mumble. "I had almost forgotten about that. You're right, if we lose sight of that then what will be?"

"Looks like you're finally starting to man up, Tsuna," Reborn said.

"Shouichi, how good are you with boats?" Tsuna turned to the redhead suddenly.

"Me? Well, I'm ok with them," he replied.

"Alright, since this isn't a real fighting challenge, I'll need people good strategic skills. Shouichi, Bel, Fran, Bianchi, and myself; that's who I'm choosing for this challenge," Tsuna told them as he pointed to each one.

"Vongola, why do you keep choosing yourself for these challenges?" Fran asked.

"How can I expect the rest of the family to fight if their boss doesn't have the guts to put his life of the line? It's a big risk going out there myself, but if I don't then I won't have a chance to get V close enough so that I can beat him. If I'm on the field then he is forced to join in as well. It'll be our best chance to end this before anyone else gets hurt," he answered.

"Ok, but why did you chose Bel-sempai as a member? He may say he's smart, but he's really just an idiot prince," Fran said.

"You brat!" Bel hissed and threw an onslaught of knives as the apathetic Varia member. "That's my line. Why did he choose you of all people again?"

"I didn't mean it Bel-sempai. My mouth just kind of worked on its own." Even though he had knives sticking out of his frog hat, Fran still couldn't put any more emotion into his voice than normal.

"Is that so? Well my hand just reacted on its own. I think it's allergic to stupid," the Varia Storm Guardian sniggered, the ring on his finger glittering under the light of the rising sun.

"Squalo, Bel-sempai is being mean," Fran complained.

"Voi! I don't care; you're being annoying!" Squalo snapped back.

"Vongola, are you done yet?" V asked, letting out a yawn.

"Yes, I've picked my team members," Tsuna stepped towards V's boat with the four other Vongola members.

"Alright then, I guess we'll get started." Behind V, the identical members of Tsuna's team appeared. The opposite clones. "I'm participating again? How annoying." V's tone showed his irritation.

"I see what you did, boss," Shouichi whispered to him.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, since whoever you pick for our team, V's team members are our players opposites. So if you picked the smartest people on this team that means that the members on V's team will be dumb. That's ingenious, boss!"

"R-Really?" Tsuna stammered. _I didn't even think about that…I thought it would only be natural to pick the smartest people for this challenge._

"I can't wait to see the opposite of Bel-sempai," Fran commented as he pulled out the knives from his head. He twirled a knife around his finger, watching it his half-closed eyes.

"If you bend those knives, I'll skin you alive," Bel warned him, his crown illuminated in the sunlight.

"I think this might be punishment for when you called my clone a crack head, sempai," Fran went on, studying his reflection in the blade's curve.

"Th-That guy who looks like me…has knives…" the Bel clone whimpered, cowering behind V. "I don't…l-like knives…"

"Bel-sempai you look total loser!" the clone Fran exclaimed brightly.

"What in the world?" Bel's face darkened and he frowned.

"Your guy's a total pansy," Fran muttered pointing the knife at the Bel clone. The clone gave a cry and curled up in a ball on the boat's deck.

"Hey look! There's my other self! Hi other self!" the cheery Fran turned and waved at the apathetic Fran.

"Aw, is Bel upset? I think I'll bake you a nice batch of cookies!" Next to V stood a smiling Bianchi, holding a whisk in her hands.

"That's supposed to be me, right?" the real Bianchi asked, studying her clone.

"If the real Bianchi can't cook that means that the opposite one can, right?" Dino muttered to Giannini.

"I would think so," the fat man answered.

"Here you go," the smiling clone held out a plate of delicious looking cookies to the quivering blonde.

"I will not lose to a cheap imitation with no love," Bianchi growled and pulled out a dish oozing and bubbling with some sort of substance from Hell. The rest of the Vongolas withdrew from the vile material with its black fumes rising up around it. "Here, Reborn," she crooned, holding out the plate to him, "have some."

"Now's not the time, Bianchi. There's a challenge to be won," Reborn told her without even batting an eye.

"Ah, you're right," she said.

"Hey, uh, what're we supposed to be doin'?" the clone Shouichi asked. He was squinting as he looked around for V.

"Why's your clone squinting?" Yamamoto asked Shouichi. "He's wearing glasses so he shouldn't have a problem seeing."

"Maybe he's wearing the wrong prescription," Shouichi suggested as he took in his clone's appearance.

"Did you forget to wear the correct glasses again?" the clone Bianchi asked him as the coward Bel nibbled on a cookie, muttering to himself as he rocked back and forth.

"I don't know. They were where I left them…" clone Shouichi muttered, looking around for Bianchi.

"Here, I found your glasses!" The cheery Fran ran up to the confused Shouichi. He knocked the glasses off and put a bag over his head.

"Really? Thank you, but I don't remember them being this dark. Is it nighttime already?" the clone Shouichi questioned, fumbling around on deck.

"Hahah! You're a total idiot!"

"Fran, that wasn't nice!" the culinary Bianchi chided.

"Wow, you're clone is really stupid…" Yamamoto muttered to Shouichi who was wearing a look of disbelief on his face.

"I didn't know…that such a level of stupidity was possible…" he sighed, fixing his glasses.

"You all are idiots!" V cried, sending them into silence.

"V-V is m-mad…!" the clone Bel whimpered, burying his face in his hands in an attempt to make himself smaller. "I don't want to die! I don't want to die! Please don't throw me over board!"

"If you die that means I get all your stuff!" cheery Fran cried happily.

"Watching these idiots is making sick," Hibari muttered darkly. Tsuna was beginning to wonder how V could put up with his team without killing any of them.

"Maybe if V kills the clone Bel it'll be less trouble for us," Fran said as the opposite clones on the boat began arguing loudly with each other.

"Enough! Let's get going!" V shouted and threw the coconut drink into the ocean, visibly irritated. They clones fell silent as V stalked off to go below deck. "Vongola, get moving as well. The sooner we can get started the sooner we can get this over with."

"Alright," Tsuna agreed, spotting their boat sitting in the harbor a little ways down the beach. V and his team disappeared inside the boat as it took off across the waves. As soon as the boat vanished, Tsuna and the rest of the Vongola family made their way towards their boat.

"Well, V's team certainly is a weird bunch, dontcha think?" Dino commented as they boarded the boat. The waves lapped loudly against the boat's hull.

"I didn't think this game of his could get any weirder," Giannini added. The boat's engine roared to life as it pulled out of the harbor. Seagulls cried overhead as they glided in the sky. Tsuna stood on the deck, looking out over the ocean. Kyoko would have loved the view, if she had been there.

"They certainly were a lively bunch." Yamamoto stretched out his arms as the sunlight hit his face.

"I'm disappointed," Fran said.

"And why is that?" Dino asked as his men manned the helm.

"I was hoping that Bel's clone would show his eyes," he answered.

* * *

**As the Vongola's travel to the infamous Bermuda Triangle, they are all burdened with their own thoughts. What will happen when they reach the cursed spot? How is it possible that their could be a Bianchi that could cook? Is there such a level of stupidity? Will Ryohei ever understand the rules of Battleships? And will we ever know what Bel's eye's really look like? Maybe this will be revealed whenever I get around to the next chapter. **


	7. Chapter 7: Tough Fight, Rough Seas

**Well, I'm back. Finally. It's not that I forgot about writing this story, just other things got in the way of writing this chapter. but after several months I finally got it done! That's all that matters, right? So, here's the chapter. As always, please read, review, and enjoy. (Oh and I don't own KHR)  
**

* * *

**Tough Fight, Rough Seas**

Rough waves like pounding fists slammed against the sides of the ten huge battleships that bobbed on top of the frothing waves like helpless corks. Foaming crest spewed into the air from the boiling cauldron of the sea. The Vongola team's ships bobbed up to the ships, stopping as V's yacht pulled to a stop.

"Alright, V, now what?" Tsuna shouted over the roaring waves.

"Now you go get on the ship that has your symbol on it. You get on the one that has the sun emblem on it and so on and so forth. Can you understand that?" V said, pointing at the rocking ships. The five battle ships closest to Tsuna's ship sported the Vongola family crest, glistening under the shining sun.

"How is this battleships if you can see our ships and we can see yours?" Shouichi demanded, holding tightly onto the railing of the ship.

"That's extreme cheating!" Ryohei cried loudly.

"All in due time, dear four-eyes," V said and snapped his fingers. Out of the water a thick wall of black rose towards the sky, disturbing the water as it cut through it.

"W-What is that?" Tsuna exclaimed as the people on the boat braced as the ocean waves tossed them about like a cork.

"It looks like a huge grid..." Shouichi pointed out, fixing his glasses as the waves settled down.

"That's because it _is_ a huge grid," V affirmed as the black grid cam to a halt, dividing the ten ships into two separate playing fields of five. "Alright, now each team choose its players and board the ships you want to be on. Once you are on your ships, punch in the coordinates you wish to set your ships at and then we will begin the game."

"Coordinates?" Ryohei questioned, eyebrows scrunched in confusion.

"Yeah, it's the coordinates that you want to place your ships at. An example would be A1 or D3 and so on and so forth. Think you can understand that?"

"I guess…" the Sun guardian mumbled, still trying to work through the details V had explained for him.

_I guess Ryohei will be the wrong person to use for this strategy game…_Tsuna sighed as he looked over the Vongola team for people to be pitted against V's team. He thought about their strategic skills and their strengths. _Shouichi is an obvious choice…and choosing him would put his clone on the field who lacks strategic skills. Hibari will place his ship mostly likely far away from everyone else's…Yamamoto will you his battle skills to pinpoint enemy ships so that will come in handy…With the Varia…Bel is the one who is considered a genius so I might be able to have him on the team. And including me with my hyper intuition there is a chance of winning this match. _"Alright, Shouichi, Yamamoto, Hibari, Bel and myself will be playing this round," Tsuna said finally after thinking everything over.

"Is that you're final choice?" V asked, his mouth twitching a bit at his obvious miscalculation as he realized that most of the players on his own team were sorely lacking the skills needed to win this game.

"Yes it is," Tsuna repeated, eyeing the cloaked man with eagerness to have a chance to get at V to end the whole thing before anyone else was lost to the madness of the games.

"Alright then! Time to let the match begin!" V declared, pointing at the sky. "Now, men, take to your ships!" The teams scattered as if he had fired a gun, taking their boats to their appointed sides.

The Vongola boat went around, dropping off the competing guardians. "Hey," Dino said as Tsuna was dropped off on the largest battle ship, "you be careful out there. Don't let V get to you."

"I won't," Tsuna told him, managing a smile as the salty wind whipped up. "I won't let him take anyone else this match or any other match. I'll end this and save Gokudera and Kyoko."

"I believe you will. Just don't forget that you have us to help you, Tsuna," Dino reminded him, giving him an encouraging smile.

"Voii! I refuse to help that little wimp of a Vongola!" Squalo snarled.

"If that were really true then why are you here, Squalo?" Dino asked the Varia swordsman.

"I'm not here 'cause I want to!" Squalo snapped, turning away to look out at the ocean with a dangerous look on his face.

"Sure," Dino said, unconvinced. "Well, we'll be supporting you from the sidelines. Do you're best, Tsuna." Dino gave him a thumbs up before Tsuna climbed the later leading to the deck of the battle ship.

"Win to the extreme!" Ryohei shouted over the waves, grinning broadly.

Tsuna nodded, climbing up the slippery rungs of the ladder as the boat behind him sped off back to a safe distance. He hoisted himself onto the deck, spotting a small control panel with a grid on it that looked exactly like the massive one sticking out of the ocean._ How in the world is V able to set up all of this? _Tsuna thought, staring at the panel with questioning brown eyes. _Never mind, I have to start this game. _

Quickly, he chose a random column, C, and chose the five middle spaces in the row. The shift suddenly began to move, groaning under his feet as it floated over to the desired coordinates. Tsuna gripped the control panel to steady himself until the ship stopped moving. On the screen a tiny icon of the ship flashed where it was currently. Around it the other four ship icons floated, displaying their locations as well. One ship off to the far corner of the playing field caught Tsuna's eye. He instantly guessed that it was Hibari's ship based on the fact that it was so far away from everyone else's.

"That's just like him," Tsuna muttered, a faint smile on his face as he could almost hear Hibari's famous line, "Don't crowd around me or I'll bite you to death."

"Are you guys ready?" V's face suddenly appeared on the giant screen.

"I'm ready over here, Tsuna!" Shouichi's voice came in through the control panel, coming from a ship that was flashing blue.

"Me too!" Yamamoto seconded.

"The Prince is always ready. I don't know what took you peasants so long, shishishi," Bel's cackling voice snickered.

There was no response from Hibari, but Tsuna knew that he was probably ready to begin just so he could get the whole thing over with. "We're all ready."

"Ok. Now, I should warn you a bit about what happens if your ship gets struck. Hopefully you guys have placed your ships in positions that will be hard to guess otherwise things could get a bit...explosive."

"Wait! You haven't said what would happen if the ships are struck!" Shouichi protested.

V smiled craftily. "Just hope that you're a good swimmer, that's all," he sniggered. "But I'm drawing this out. Let's begin. Vongola, you can start since I'm such a nice guy." V's smiling face disappeared after he said that, returning to the grid screen.

"Good swimmer?" Shouichi repeated worriedly.

"I'll take the first move since I'm a prince, shishi. I need to get rid of the cheap imitation that sullies the prince's noble name," Bel informed them before anyone could protest. "B4!" he proclaimed loudly, his hidden eyes watching the screen eagerly for a hit to appear. A missile suddenly shot from the front of Bel's ship, sailing into the sky with a trail of smoke left behind it.

_We're firing real missiles? _Tsuna thought nervously, covering his ears over the roaring sound of the missile. It disappeared over the grid with a screeching wail, nose-diving onto the other side. Agonizing seconds ticked my as they waited, listening as the waves rolledand crashed.

An X did appear finally on the screen, but Bel's move hadn't hit anything. A look of frustration marred his wide grin, the corners of his mouth turning downwards. The prince's hands gripped the railing until his knuckles turned white, rage coursing like electricity through his body.

"How could I miss?" he seethed, chuckling darkly under his breath. "I will not miss again!"

"Look's like the stupid prince missed! Ooops!" a jeering voice called out from the other side of the huge grid.

"I'll kill the commoner who said that!" Bel hissed, drawing his knives.

"Calm down, Bel," Tsuna told him and turned back to the screen, waiting for V's move.

"I choose C1!" a cheery voice crackled slightly over the intercom and another missile was fired from the opposing side. Tsuna's stomach turned nervously as it headed for his row, dangerously close to his ship. The missile dove into the ocean, splashing into the waves with a huge explosion that rocks the ship. It hadn't struck, but had been too close for comfort.

_That was too close! Why did I choose this row? _Tsuna thought, his mind still racing from his close encounter with the missile. _If that had been any closer…_

"Looks like I missed. Your turn, Vongola," V said with a disappointed sigh.

_I guess I'll go…_Tsuna thought as he collected himself, standing up straight and fixing his crooked tie with calm fingers. He had to be calm. If he let himself lose his head again then V would be able to throw him off. Remaining collected was the only thing that would make Tsuna stay focused. He had to rescue Kyoko and Gokudera at all costs.

Clearing his mind to relax himself, Tsuna saw a flickering coordinate in his mind. He zoned in on in, pulling it close like a flickering flame, until the letters became clear. B9. Tsuna had no idea how he had come up with the coordinate, but a strong gut feeling urged him to go with the letter-number pair.

"B9," Tsuna said, his voice leaving no room for hesitation for regret for his decision. The coordinate felt right; more than that, he was sure he was right.

The missile cut into the air and screamed into the opponent's area. Suddenly a large explosion erupted, agitating the waves. "We got a hit!" Shouichi exclaimed in awe, his glasses slipping from his nose. He pushed it back up with fingers trembling in excitement and a hint of fear. "I-I didn't think that they'd actually use real missiles…Ah! My stomach hurts!" he groaned, holding his throbbing stomach.

"That's the boss's hyper intuition for ya," Yamamoto said a little breathless as a column of thick smoke choked the sky. It coursed like a black snake across the cloud-littered expanse of blue, sinister and foreboding. On the screen two spots lit up, exposing part of the hidden battleship.

"Wait why are there two hits?" Shouichi pointed out as his eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"Aw, looks like you got a hit, Vongola. I guess I overlooked your hyper intuition," V whined in a disappointed voice that seemed more fake than sincere distress. "Why are there two hits, you ask? Well, just waiting around for you guys to take a shot in the dark and trying to hit the ships would take to long. A game's really no fun if it goes on for a super long time. So I decided to throw in an extra special surprise. Instead of one hit you get two hits for the price of one! That means that both teams will have to extra careful, especially those with smaller ships, otherwise they'll be blown up super fast."

"Why didn't you tell us this sooner?" Tsuna demanded, eyes narrowing with irritation, but he didn't raise his voice in anger.

"Because a game needs to have a few surprises," V replied casually and they almost hear the nonchalant shrug in his voice. "Just to keep things interesting."

"Is there anything else that you're not telling us?" Tsuna questioned.

"Nope. I don't think there is," V answered after a few seconds of thought. Tsuna detected a lying note in V's voice, but he didn't say anything. "Let's keep going. My turn? Alright then I chose...H6!"

Team Vongola had barely anytime to react as a missile came soaring over, its trajectory unknown as it fell earthwards. The mafia members tensed up, waiting nervously for it to hit. Much to their surprised it passed over them, first causing a sense of relief then worry as they wondered where the missile was heading next. Fear bubbled in their stomachs, finally realizing that it was heading to the furthermost corner of the field—right where Hibari was.

"Hibari!" they cried out instinctively, suddenly concerned for their teammate's safety. Bel of course merely scoffed, not even bothering to care where the missile was heading just as long as it wasn't towards him. The Vongola members barely got the Cloud Guardian's name out before the missile hit. A wall of water roared up, agitating the sea again.

"Hey…you don't think that Hibari was…" Shouichi asked hesitantly through the headset.

"I doubt it. Hibari won't go down that easily," Yamamoto said as they watched the Cloud Guardian's ship. The steam and spray cleared, revealing the unscathed hull with a hard-faced Hibari standing like an unmoving stone statue. "See? What did I tell you?" Their relief was short lived because the dark look on Hibari's face was as menacing as a demon's.

"I thought I told you people to stay away from me. You just got too close. Now who should I bite to death first?" Hibari hissed darkly, his eyes narrowed dangerously.

"It wasn't us, Hibari," Yamamoto informed him, trying to direct the anger of the group hating guardian away from the Vongola team. "It was V who did it. If we don't stop him now he's just going to keep getting closer to you. You have to help stop him otherwise he'll force you into a group."

"I hate groups. Only weaklings group together. I will not be grouped together with weaklings." Hibari's voice was as cold as steel with raging anger bubbling underneath his calm exterior. "I guess I'll just have to bite them to death." As if frightened by the dangerous aura radiating from the Cloud guardian, a missile shot out and whimpered over the screen. A surprising explosion filled the air and another column of smoke curled upwards from C9. Another hit for Vongola. Two more marks were delivered to one of the ships and the spirits lifted in Tsuna's team.

"That's our Hibari!" Yamamoto commented with a broad grin. "Get him motivated and off he goes!"

"Y-Yeah…but he sure is scary when he gets mad like that…" Shouichi stammered and fixed his crooked glasses.

"Hibari is so scary! The Vongola are all so scary. That's why I think I'd better step it up a notch otherwise these Vongola will end up winning," V said. "Maybe I need to throw a curve ball…"

"That's cheating, V!" Tsuna said loudly, thinking quickly about where the next strike would come from.

"Not cheating. It's simply adding more excitement to this hot-blooded game. I just want to see if you're really serious because I'm beginning to doubt that you are. Let's just check up on how your beloved princess is doing."

The grid suddenly vanished and a picture of Kyoko was thrown up. Tsuna's eyes widened at the sight of the girl with her face fresh with fear and her big brown eyes darting around with fear. Her orange hair was in disarray around her pretty face and his heart twisted at the sight of her. It had felt like forever since he's seen her, only able to keep her close in his memories that he kept constantly turning over like old photographs. Yet, the image of her was slowly fading the longer he was apart from her, leaving Tsuna with only a hazy image of face and the echo of her voice in his head. Now Tsuna could see her tied to a pillar, but otherwise alive and unhurt.

"Kyoko!" He couldn't stop the desperate cry of her name from escaping his mouth. It echoed across the waves, swallowed up by the raging sea.

"Tsuna? Tsuna! Where are you? Tsuna! I'm scared! Please! Help me!" Kyoko cried, tears pooling in the corners of her eyes. Claws of agony tore at Tsuna's heart as he watched, unable to do anything. He wanted to cry out, to crush the screen with the awful image, but he could do nothing but listen as her desperate pleading filled his ears.

"Stop it…" Tsuna begged in a hoarse whisper. His hands trembled like leaves by his side, the Vongola family ring feeling like a heavy stone tied around his finger.

"What was that? I don't think I heard you," V jeered, his voice invoking a wave of rage inside of Tsuna.

"Stop it, V! You don't need to be doing this!" he shouted. He wanted to run away or at least go blindly searching for Kyoko, but remained frozen to the spot with his shout still burning on his lips.

"Hm…Let me think…No," V said mockingly and Tsuna flinched inwardly. "Why should I? She's fine, so long as you keep winning."

"It's not…fair…" Tsuna whispered to the ground.

"Life's not fair. The life of a mafia boss is the least fair thing in the world. You _need to realize that otherwise you'll get yourself and your whole family killed,"_ V scoffed at him and the image of Kyoko disappeared. "Now, it's my turn."

Tsuna was no longer able to hear V, too absorbed in his own raging thoughts and the sound of Kyoko's cries. Her voice still reverberated in his mind, growing louder than the seas. His eyes locked on the air in front of him as his thoughts became an overpowering roar. That brief instance had shaken him to the core and he could still see and hear her even though the image had vanished.

_Why couldn't I do anything? Why can't I do anything?_ Tsuna thought, not hearing the sound of the missile screech overheard. His name was shouted, but he wasn't paying attention to the voices. Everything seemed to fade away from around Tsuna, leaving him isolated in a world of detached silence. The sound of the missile exploding nearby, hitting a ship a little ways off.

"Darn, looks like I missed him, but at least I hit something," V smirked. "Now, Vongola, it's your turn."

"Tsuna! Tsuna!" Yamamoto shouted into his headset, desperately trying to reach his shell-shocked boss.

"Hmph, looks like the Vongola boss has is no longer with us," Bel scoffed. "I guess the Prince will have to step up and covered the weak boss. H5." The cruel smile on the Varia Storm Guardian's face broadened as the familiar sound of the missile taking flight filled the air. The grin only grew in size as the missile struck a ship and sent up an X on the screen. Tsuna remained unfazed, still locked in his out screaming thoughts.

_What am I going to do? _Tsuna shouted at himself over the roar of the waves and the cries of his team.

* * *

**Will Tsuna ever be able to overcome his shock? Will this long game of battleships ever end? Does Shouichi actually know how to swim? Who knows; if I ever get another chapter done then we might just find out. **


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